"Kes… Damn that bastard Ronan!" Kraglin's voice was thick with rage as he watched a man he'd looked up to, a father figure, being executed on the screen. He'd never known Ronan had been the one to kill him personally.
"Easy, Kraglin. Ronan's dead, remember?" A fellow Ravager clapped him on the shoulder. "Quill blew him to smithereens with that purple rock. There was nothin' left."
Kraglin let out a ragged breath, the fire in his eyes banking slightly. He still wasn't Peter Quill's biggest fan, but right now, he couldn't deny a grudging sense of gratitude. The kid had avenged Kes.
"Gamora!" On her own ship, Nebula hissed the name like a curse. In her reality, Thanos had not yet loaned her and her sister out to the Kree fanatic, but seeing Gamora so effortlessly claim the mission that should have been hers made her cybernetic parts ache with familiar resentment.
Meanwhile, aboard the Sanctuary II, the Mad Titan himself turned his attention from the smoking ruins of Nidavellir toward his next target. Pursuit from the Nova Corps had long been an annoyance. Now, with the Power Stone likely hidden on their capital world, an assault on Xandar was no longer a consideration, but a necessity.
Thanos was no fool. Open war with the entire Nova Empire was inefficient, a waste of resources. A direct, surgical strike on their capital, however… Xandar's planetary defenses were surprisingly vulnerable. Better still, Ronan's recent crusade would have left the planet weakened and its infrastructure in disarray. It would take them years to fully recover. Now was the perfect time to strike.
[A gleaming blue and gold planet filled the screen. Xandar, the capital of the Nova Empire.]
[Rocket's cynical voice provided commentary.]
["Xandarians. What a bunch of losers. Look at 'em, all happy and smilin', walkin' around doin' pointless, stupid stuff. Pathetic."]
[The view, seemingly from Rocket's scanner, panned over a man with a wild shock of white hair.]
["Look at this yahoo. They call us criminals? Man, someone ought to arrest that guy for his haircut alone."]
[The scanner then centered on a small child, whose skin and hair were a uniform, shimmering gold. Biometric data scrolled across the display.]
["What in the hell is this thing? Look at him, thinkin' he's so cool. Walk on your own two feet, ya little poser!"]
[Next, the camera zoomed in on a familiar elderly man chatting animatedly with a beautiful young woman.]
["Oh, and here's Mr. Sleazy Grin again. Where's your wife, old man? What a creep."]
[The view pulled back to show Rocket lowering a transparent data slate, chuckling to himself. "Am I right, Groot? Groot?"]
[Hearing no response, Rocket turned to see his towering friend slurping water directly from a public fountain.]
[He threw his hands up in exasperation. "Dude! Would you stop drinking from the fountain? That's disgusting!"]
[Groot immediately straightened up, shaking his head with an expression of pure innocence.]
[Rocket jabbed a finger at him. "Yes, you were! I was lookin' right at ya! Why are you lyin'?"]
[Just then, the slate in his hand beeped and flashed red, flagging a new target.]
["Ooh, a new bounty," Rocket chirped, his mood instantly improving. "Alright, let's see what sad sack has a price on his head today."]
[He lifted the slate, and the targeting reticle landed squarely on Peter Quill, who was in the middle of an intimate goodbye with a pink-skinned woman.]
[The bounty details flashed on screen. Rocket's eyes went wide.]
["Forty-thousand units?! Groot! We are gonna be rich!"]
[He was met with the sound of loud slurping. He whipped around to see Groot, once again, drinking from the fountain.]
[Rocket's shoulders slumped in defeat. He didn't even have the energy to scold him again.]
"Whoa, a talking raccoon! The universe really is full of surprises," Scott Lang said with genuine wonder.
"And his mouth is even worse than Tony's," Natasha commented with a smirk, giving Tony a pointed look.
"Hey, the mysterious old man is back!" Clint Barton pointed at the screen. "And just like Tony, he's always got a pretty woman nearby."
"Hey! I'm right here!" Tony protested, rolling his eyes.
Natasha's smile softened. "We know. And you've got us. And Pepper." She knew how much darkness he kept bottled up inside. She had to do what she could to help him carry it, especially since she might never get the chance to wield Mjolnir again. The hammer was fractured, barely holding together; she suspected one more solid blow from her or Thor would shatter it completely.
Tony said nothing, but his posture relaxed fractionally.
Elsewhere, piloting the Benatar, Rocket felt a cold knot of dread form in his stomach as he watched himself appear on the mysterious screen. He knew all too well what horrors he had escaped from. Now that his face was being broadcast across the dimensions, it wasn't just him who was in danger. It was all of them.
His fears were immediately realized.
In a sterile, horrifying laboratory, the High Evolutionary stared at the screen, his face a mask of cold fury. "Subject 89P13… I've found you. Someone, bring him to me! Now!"
[After saying goodbye to Bereet, Star-Lord moved through the crowded plaza, heading for his rendezvous with the Broker.]
[He soon arrived at a small, cluttered shop filled with alien artifacts.]
[The Broker, a fastidious man with elaborately sculpted eyebrows, looked up. "Mr. Quill."]
["Broker! Orb's here. Mission accomplished,"] Star-Lord announced, pulling the metal sphere from his bag and placing it on the counter.]
[The Broker, however, did not look pleased. His eyes darted around the empty entrance.]
["And Yondu?"]
[Quill waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, he wanted to come. Asked me to pass it on to you. And, uh, to tell you your eyebrows are legendary in the business. Truly magnificent."]
[The Broker took a deep breath, ignoring the flattery. He took out several scanning devices and prepared to analyze the Orb.]
[Star-Lord leaned forward curiously. "What's all that?"]
["It is my policy never to discuss my clients or their requirements,"] the Broker said without looking up.]
[Star-Lord frowned. "Yeah, well, I almost got my throat sliced open for that thing."]
["An occupational hazard," the Broker sniffed, unconcerned. "One I assume you've accounted for in your line of work."]
[That is, until he heard Quill's next sentence.]
["By some freaks in metal masks. Said they were working for a guy named Ronan."]
[The Broker froze. "Ronan?"] His professional demeanor shattered instantly. ["I'm sorry, Mr. Quill, I truly am, but I want no part of this! If Ronan is involved, the deal is off!"]
[He scrambled out from behind the counter, snatched the Orb, and shoved it back into Star-Lord's arms, pushing him forcefully toward the door.]
[Star-Lord stumbled, completely baffled by the sudden change. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Who's Ronan?"]
[The Broker's voice was trembling with fear.]
["A Kree fanatic! He is incensed by the peace treaty! A monster who will not rest until all Xandarian culture—our culture—is destroyed!"]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGarudaYou'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~