["Peter Jason Quill. From Terra. Orphaned, then abducted and raised by a Ravager clan, the 'Sweepers,' led by Yondu Udonta."]
[The officer continued reading from the report, which noted a translator implant in Quill's neck, allowing him to communicate across the galaxy.]
[As his mugshot was taken, Star-Lord slowly raised his middle finger to the camera, then put on an innocent face.]
["Oh, I'm sorry," he said, feigning sincerity. "I don't know how that happened. This thing is… automatic."]
[His criminal record scrolled on the screen: 1 count of fraud, 2 counts of public intoxication, 1 count of assault, and one count of… inappropriate relations with a Gramosian duchess.]
[Nova Prime gave the order from her command center.]
["What a bunch of a-holes. Send all four of them to the Kyln."]
"Ah, the Kyln…" Rhomann Dey muttered from the audience, shaking his head with a rueful smile. He already knew how this story ended—with the most audacious and infamous prison break in Nova Corps history. Still, seeing it play out again was something else. He idly wondered if the Kyln's warden had tried to block this particular recording from being broadcast. It was a deeply embarrassing mark on their otherwise perfect record. But the mysterious entity showing them these films clearly didn't care about sparing anyone's blushes.
["I guess most of the corps are honest, but these ones here, they're corrupt and brutal."]
[As they were marched through the prison's sterile corridors, Rocket swaggered with his hands cuffed behind his back, boasting to anyone who would listen.]
["But that's okay! I don't care! I'll be out of here in no time! I've escaped 22 prisons, this one's no different!"]
[He then turned his attention to Star-Lord. "You oughta be thankful that psycho lady showed up! Otherwise, me and Groot would be splitting your bounty by now!"]
["And Yondu and his Ravagers would be picking your guts out of their teeth!"]
[Star-Lord just shrugged. "I've had a lot of people try to kill me over the years. I'm not about to be taken out by a talking tree and a raccoon."]
[Rocket, who had never heard the term before, stopped short. "What's a raccoon?"]
[Seeing his genuine confusion, Star-Lord had to spell it out. "It's what you are, stupid."]
[Rocket jabbed a thumb at his own chest, indignant. "Ain't no thing like me, 'cept me!"]
[Ignoring him, Star-Lord turned to Gamora, who walked silently ahead of them. "So, that Orb. It's got a real shiny blue case. You know, like the Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon kind of vibe. What is it?"]
[Groot, who had been quiet the whole time, finally offered his thoughts. "I am Groot."]
[Star-Lord glanced back at him. "Yeah, I didn't ask you. So what's the Orb for?"]
[Gamora answered without looking back, her voice cold. "I have no intention of discussing this with a thief."]
[Rocket scoffed from behind her. "What's with the high-and-mighty act? You're one of Ronan's killers!"]
[Gamora stiffened, turning to glare at him.]
[Rocket didn't back down. "Yeah! Everyone in the criminal underworld knows who you are! The deadliest woman in the galaxy!"]
[Star-Lord chimed in with a grin. "See? That's why we're all acquainted!"]
[He then leaned toward Groot and whispered, "Who is she?"]
[Groot offered the same helpful reply as before. "I am Groot."]
[Star-Lord threw his hands up in exasperation. "Yeah, you said that already!"]
["I wasn't stealing the Orb for Ronan," Gamora finally explained, her voice low. "I betrayed him. I was taking it to a third-party buyer."]
[The guards shoved them through another gate, into the main prison block.]
["Yeah, yeah, I get it," Star-Lord grumbled, mostly to himself. "You're Groot. Don't think I'll ever forget it at this rate. What's up with your vocabulary, anyway?"]
["He doesn't know talkin' good like me and you," Rocket explained. "So his vocabulistics is limited to 'I,' and 'am,' and 'Groot.' Exclusively in that order."]
["I'll tell you what, that's going to get old real quick," Star-Lord muttered. As he passed by the processing desk, his eyes widened. He saw a blue-skinned prison guard casually handling his most prized possession.]
[He pointed frantically. "Hey! Put that down! That's mine!"]
[The guard ignored him, placing the headphones of the Walkman over his ears.]
[Star-Lord lost it. He twisted sideways and slipped into the room just before the security door slid shut.]
["Listen, you blue bastard! Take those headphones off! That's my Walkman! It was in my belongings! That tape and player are mine!"]
[The guard simply picked up an electric stun baton and jabbed it into Star-Lord's gut.]
[Star-Lord collapsed to his knees, still yelling through the pain. "Hooked on a Feeling! Blue Swede, 1973! That song belongs to me!"]
[For his defiance, the guard zapped him again, sending him sprawling to the floor.]
[Gamora, Rocket, and Groot could only watch through the bars as the guard gave the twitching Star-Lord one last jolt for good measure.]
"Is he really that obsessed with ancient pop music?" Rhodey asked, taking a long swallow of wine.
Natasha eyed him with a knowing look. "Seems so. Maybe take it easy on that. You never know when we'll be called to clean up another mess."
Rhodey let out a weary sigh, setting the glass down and rubbing his temples. "Tell me about it. It feels like we can never catch a break. There's always another fire to put out." The unspoken weight of their recent past hung in the air. Like Tony before him, Rhodey had found a hollow comfort at the bottom of a glass lately. Their victory against the 'Elementals' had come at a staggering cost, and the public's gratitude had quickly soured into blame and scrutiny, leaving all of them feeling frayed and on edge.
[The scene changed, showing Star-Lord stripped to a pair of shorts as a guard hosed him down with a stream of red, disinfecting liquid.]
["Get in there!" After the rough wash, two guards shoved him into the next room.]
[Their rough handling frayed Star-Lord's last nerve. He spun around, murder in his eyes, but stopped cold as several automated defense drones swiveled to point their glowing muzzles directly at his head.]
[Faced with overwhelming firepower, he grit his teeth and complied, but his furious glare promised that he would repay the guards for the humiliation.]
[As he was thrown a yellow prison uniform, he saw Rocket being pushed in behind him, the metallic implants from his experimental past glinting on his bare back.]
[After they were all dressed, they were led to a new area where guards handed them bedsheets. By now, Groot's arms had already grown back to their full length.]