[In the prison corridor, Star-Lord caught up with Gamora.]
["Listen… for the record, I don't actually care if you live or die."]
[Gamora turned to face him. "Then why did you stop him from killing me?"]
["Simple," Star-Lord said with a smirk. "You know who to sell the Orb to."]
[Gamora stared at him, incredulous that even now, that was all he could think about.]
["We're in a maximum-security prison. How are we supposed to sell anything?"]
[Star-Lord's smirk widened. "Our mutual friend, Rocket, has escaped 22 prisons."]
[Rocket crossed his arms, looking at Gamora with smug confidence. "Oh, getting out is the easy part."]
[Then he pointed a claw at Star-Lord. "The hard part is that as soon as we're out, we're handing you over to Yondu for my bounty."]
[Star-Lord glanced calmly at Gamora. "How much is your buyer paying for the Orb?"]
[Gamora took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment before naming the price. "Four billion units."]
["What?!" Rocket's jaw dropped, his eyes lighting up like twin supernovas.]
["Holy…" Star-Lord was stunned into silence. The number was beyond anything he could have imagined.]
["That Orb is my only chance to be free from Ronan and Thanos," Gamora said, her voice intense. "If we can get out of here, I will take you to the buyer. We split the money."]
[Just then, they both noticed Groot leaning against the bars of his cell, watching them.]
["He says four ways," Rocket translated instantly.]
[Then he grumbled, "He pretends to be asleep whenever there's danger, but the second you mention money, he's wide awake! What a sap!"]
Tony swirled the amber liquid in his glass, a thoughtful look on his face. "Four billion units," he mused. "I wonder what the exchange rate is on that. What exactly can you buy with that much space cash?"
Steve Rogers put the number into perspective. "It's clearly a fortune," he said calmly. "The bounty on Quill was forty thousand, and that was enough to make Rocket start a firefight on Xandar. This is an entirely different league."
While the men were focused on the money, Natasha's attention was fixed on the prize itself. "The raccoon is definitely on board now, that's for sure," she noted. "But I want to know what that Orb is. Why is it worth so much?"
"It has to be some kind of ultimate universal treasure, right?" Scott chimed in with a laugh. "God knows what… it couldn't be an Infinity Stone, could it? Hah! Can you imagine? An Infinity Stone just sitting on some dead planet?"
[The scene shifted to deep space, where Ronan was in a holographic conference with Thanos's herald, the being known as The Other.]
["You have been betrayed, Ronan," The Other sneered.]
["Gamora was captured! She may not have the Orb!" Ronan retorted.]
["My sources in the Kyln say she has her own agenda! Your alliance with Thanos is in jeopardy! The Mad Titan summons you. Now."]
[The Other cut the transmission without waiting for a reply.]
[In the next moment, Ronan stood in the stone temple of Sanctuary, before Thanos's throne.]
["Thanos! It is your daughter who has betrayed me. Yet you summon me?"]
[The Other, standing at the side of the throne, immediately interjected.]
["Mind your tongue, Accuser!"]
[Ronan ignored him, his gaze fixed on the figure of Thanos, whose back was turned to him.]
["First, she lost the Orb to a band of Terran vermin!"]
["Thanos lent Gamora to you," The Other pressed, implying the failure was Ronan's. "Her actions were your responsibility."]
[Ronan's eyes narrowed, but he continued to ignore the minion. "And then she allowed herself to be captured by the Nova Corps!"]
[Hearing this, Nebula looked up from her place on the steps, a flicker of satisfaction in her eyes at Gamora's disgrace.]
["You are the one who has failed!" Ronan spat.]
["My sources say she planned to betray us all along!" The Other shot back.]
[Ronan's patience finally snapped. "Your voice is irritating!" he snarled at the chattering sycophant.]
["You will lower your tone, or I will—"]
[Before The Other could finish his threat, Ronan swung his Cosmi-Rod. A wave of dark energy erupted from the hammer, striking The Other square in the head. With a sickening crunch, his head was twisted a full 180 degrees on his neck, and his body slumped to the floor, lifeless.]
[The sudden, brutal act made Nebula sit up straighter, looking at Ronan with newfound interest. To kill Thanos's herald right before his eyes took a level of audacity she could appreciate.]
[Having silenced the herald, Ronan addressed the throne once more.]
["I only ask that you see this matter through."]
[At this, Thanos's throne slowly turned, revealing the Mad Titan in all his terrifying glory.]
["The only matter I do not take seriously, boy," Thanos rumbled, his voice like grinding planets, "is you."]
["Your politics bore me. Your demeanor is that of a pouty child. And now, you have alienated my favorite daughter, Gamora."]
["I will honor our agreement, Kree, once you retrieve the Orb. But return to me again empty-handed… and I will bathe the starways in your blood."]
[Nebula rose from the steps and walked past Ronan.]
[She paused beside the Accuser. "This is a battle you cannot win alone. We will go to the Kyln together."]
[Ronan glanced at the immense figure on the throne, then turned and stormed out without another word.]
[As he left, Thanos watched him go, a cruel, knowing smile playing on his lips.]
In Asgard, Loki had been lounging on his back, staring at the ceiling in utter boredom. But as the scene unfolded, his posture shifted. The moment Ronan's hammer connected with the skull of his former handler, Loki sat bolt upright. A slow, cruel smile spread across his face. He'd despised The Other, the sycophant who had lorded Thanos's power over him for so long.
A genuine, malicious chuckle escaped him. "Oh, you arrogant little toad," he purred. "All that posturing, and for what? To be silenced like a misbehaving pet."
Recalling the endless stream of demands and taunts from the creature, Loki felt a deep, satisfying warmth spread through his chest. "A fitting end," he murmured to himself.
Back in the Avengers' viewing room, Maria Hill shook her head, a wry look on her face. "Well, clearly that alien never learned the principle that loose lips sink ships."
Steve sighed, his expression grim. "Arrogance always has a price. But I didn't expect Thanos to just… let it happen. He didn't even acknowledge the death of his own servant. That's more than ruthless; it's inhuman."
"Ronan is a valuable tool. The Other was just a mouthpiece," Natasha observed, her gaze fixed on the screen. "The herald was expendable. But make no mistake—if Ronan fails to deliver that Orb, Thanos will destroy him just as easily."
"So, whatever it takes to get what he wants, huh?" Scott said, an involuntary shiver running down his spine. "God… How cruel can one guy be?"