"Sorry, Mr. Quill, truly sorry."
The goateed broker hurried around the counter and shoved Star-Lord out. "Any deal that has anything to do with Ronan, I will not get involved in!"
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
Shoved back again and again, Star-Lord asked in bafflement, "Who is Ronan?"
"A Kree fanatic, enraged by the peace treaty! He won't rest unless the Nova civilization is wiped out!"
The goateed broker spoke in fear and haste, then pushed Star-Lord out the door. "A man like that—I can't afford to cross!"
"Hey! So that means I can afford to cross him?" Star-Lord said, displeased.
Ding~!
The broker shut the door at once. "Farewell indefinitely, Mr. Quill!"
"...."
Star-Lord stood at the door, tossing the Orb in his hand up and down, not really sure what to do now...
When he turned his head idly, he noticed a green-skinned woman eating by the office entrance and couldn't help glancing twice.
Seeing that her target had taken the bait, Gamora's lips curled into a smile as she asked, "What is it?"
"That guy turned on me and refused to honor the deal. What I hate most is a man with no integrity."
Star-Lord pointed at the office, griped about the broker, then looked at Gamora and introduced himself. "Peter Quill—everyone calls me Star-Lord."
"I can tell you're a proper gentleman." Gamora's smile deepened as she strode toward him.
Thinking she meant to shake hands, Star-Lord reached one out. "I'm not that good—people just say that. I generally don't brag like that myself."
But Gamora said nothing and simply grabbed for the Orb in his other hand—
Smack~!
That was fast.
She snatched the Orb from him in one go, then kicked Star-Lord to the ground and turned to run.
"Ow—!"
With a cry of pain, Star-Lord hurried after her. "Hey! Stop!"
…..
"Looks like the people of Xandar don't believe in gods… though this national emblem is hung everywhere…"
Strolling with Alita, Ye Li looked around and noticed the most common Xandarian symbol was an irregular star.
It was on the top of the administration building, on Nova Corps helmets, even the patrol skiffs used a starburst motif.
"Forget it—let's head to the next stop. The universe kind of seems like this across the board."
Ye Li found his sense of novelty about alien worlds far weaker than he'd expected.
Maybe it was because his level was simply too high that all the alien tech which would be impressive to ordinary people didn't amount to much in his eyes.
After getting the Soul Stone on Vormir, maybe it'd be time to return to Mother Earth…
Mm... mainly because all these alien races look so weird... and there really aren't any pretty girls...
Just as he was thinking that, a green figure flashed past him—
'Gamora? Judging by the look… not the movie version—seems like the comic version?…'
Watching Gamora's retreating back, Ye Li thought: 'Her features and figure are pretty good, but... shame she's still got green skin...'
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~!
A red energy-cable whipped past, spiraling to bind Gamora's feet.
Star-Lord came running right behind and lunged at her. "Give it back!"
Bang!
Gamora quickly slipped the bind, raised a leg, and booted Star-Lord flying———
Seeing him refuse to give up, her eyes hardened; she drew a blade to stab at his chest!
Ye Li arched a brow from the side: [Fighting this hard over a Gems shell… isn't that a bit much…]
Swoosh~!
A raccoon suddenly pounced onto Gamora's hair and shouted, "The bounty is mine! Groot, move it!"
"I am Groot." Groot sprouted vines, about to coil around Gamora.
"Hey! Not her! Idiot! Learn the difference between genders."
Rocket hurriedly pointed at Star-Lord. "Grab him! Him!"
Star-Lord froze for a second, then hurriedly picked up the Orb that had rolled aside and scrambled to leave.
Only just then—
Wuennn~————!
Several tractor beams washed over the scene, hauling Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot into the air.
"Subject 89P13, drop your weapon. In the name of the Nova Corps, you are under arrest!"
"Heh~ The circus is over. Let's go too."
Ye Li shook his head with a wry smile, slipped an arm around Alita's shoulders, and prepared to leave.
Wuennn~————!
Two more beams swept over.
"And you two unknown, unregistered illegals! Hands in the air!!"
Ye Li: "...."