["I followed you halfway across the galaxy to get here," Drax snarled, "only to find Ronan is still nowhere near dead!"]
[With that, he shoved his way through the crowd and stormed off.]
["Drax!" Star-Lord called after him.]
[Gamora didn't care. "Let him go. We don't need him."]
[Just then, a door beside the bar slid open, and Carina stepped out.]
["Mistress Gamora? My master has sent me to escort you."]
[The group followed Carina into the Collector's private territory.]
[Rocket looked at the countless display cases filled with strange beings and artifacts. "This guy's a total creep," he muttered.]
[Carina walked ahead of them, introducing the museum with rehearsed enthusiasm. "We possess the largest collection of fauna, relics, and species in the galaxy!"]
["All manner of creatures! Fossils! Flora! Anything you can imagine!"]
[In a nearby glass case, a golden retriever from Earth stared out, wearing a small helmet. It was Cosmo, a dog once launched into space by the Soviet Union, mutated by cosmic rays, and eventually acquired by the Collector.]
[Her file noted that she possessed powerful telekinesis, strong enough to support a massive spaceship.]
[In a case directly opposite, a live Chitauri soldier was locked away. It seemed anything and everything was fair game for the Collector's obsession.]
[Carina, walking ahead, turned and opened her arms with a grand flourish.]
["May I present Taneleer Tivan, The Collector!"]
[The Collector turned to face them. He was wearing a pair of peculiar glasses, which he removed as he strode towards them.]
["Ah, my dear Gamora! It is an honor to finally meet you in person."]
[The Collector took Gamora's hand and brushed a light kiss across her knuckles.]
["Let's skip the pleasantries, Tivan," she said, pulling her hand back. "We have what you want."]
[It was then that the Collector's eyes fell upon Groot, who was standing behind Gamora. His eyebrows shot up in delight.]
["What is that…?"]
[The Collector slowly circled the creature. "I never thought I would have the chance to meet a Flora Colossus!"]
["Sir… permit me to offer payment for your carcass. To be collected, of course, only upon your demise."]
[Groot tilted his head, confused. "I am Groot."]
[Rocket translated, "He's asking why. So you can turn him into a stupid chair?"]
[The Collector glanced at Groot, then asked without turning his head, "Is this your pet?"]
["My what?!" Rocket bristled, his hand instantly going for the blaster on his back.]
[The Collector merely smiled, but Gamora stepped between them.]
["Tivan! We traveled halfway across the galaxy to bring you this Orb!"]
["Very well! Let us proceed to the transaction!"]
[Gamora gave Star-Lord a silent nod. He took the Orb from his bag, but as he was about to hand it over, it slipped through his fingers and clattered onto the floor. Star-Lord snatched it up immediately, trying to pretend nothing had happened.]
"Hahaha! I'm dying!" Rocket howled with laughter, pointing a finger at the Star-Lord in the room. "Quill, you oaf! That was so embarrassing! Was the Orb too slippery for your clumsy fingers?"
"Hey, even the best of us make mistakes," Star-Lord said with a defiant tilt of his head, completely unfazed. "Besides, my hand didn't slip. That was the other Peter Quill. Totally different guy."
Everyone just rolled their eyes, long used to his shameless deflections. Gamora simply smiled, while the little Groot on Drax's shoulder began to dance, shaking his tiny body as if he, too, were mocking his captain.
[After storming out of the bar, Drax noticed a nearby communications outpost.]
["Three power cells, seven crates of Cotati saplings… no, eight crates! You shorted me last time…"]
[Before the staffer inside could finish his argument, Drax pressed a knife to his neck, silencing him.]
["Send a message for me."]
"What is Drax doing?" Captain America asked, a deep frown creasing his brow as the scene cut away.
"Oh, I think we all know," Rhodey said with a sigh. "He's about to do something incredibly stupid."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me he's calling Ronan. Is he really trying to lure him there?"
"No way!" Scott exclaimed. "He can't be that dense, can he? Ronan has that giant warship and a whole army. Drax can't possibly think he can take him on alone."
Natasha just sneered. "This is Drax we're talking about. Logic doesn't apply. He absolutely thinks he can kill Ronan by himself."
On the Milano, the Guardians all turned to stare at their Drax. He shrugged, oblivious. "Why are you all looking at me?"
"We're just curious, Drax," Gamora said, her voice dangerously calm. "What exactly do you think you're accomplishing on that screen?"
"It is obvious!" Drax declared proudly. "I am luring Ronan to my location. When he arrives, I will kill him!" He said it with such simple conviction, as if victory were a foregone conclusion.
"Oh, shit," Rocket groaned, burying his face in his hands. "You idiot."
[The Collector watched with a look of reverence as the Orb was secured within a complex device.]
["Oh, my new friends. Before creation itself, there were six singularities."]
[He slowly turned a dial, and the device began to unlock the Orb.]
[An image formed from lines of purple energy materialized above their heads.]
["Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots."]
[Six Stones—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple—appeared in the projection. At the same time, a purple light began to pulse from within the unlocking Orb.]
["Infinity Stones. These relics can seemingly only be wielded by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe."]
[Star-Lord and the others looked where the Collector pointed.]
[The projection showed an impossibly tall celestial being, holding a massive staff that pulsed with a dazzling purple light.]
[Countless smaller figures were fleeing from it in terror.]
["These Stones can be used to raze entire civilizations like wheat in a field."]
[The celestial in the vision slammed its staff into the ground. A storm of purple energy erupted outwards, instantly disintegrating the fleeing people into dust.]
[The scene pulled back into space, where a purple glow emanated from the planet's surface. A moment later, a cataclysmic force exploded from that point, scouring all life from the world in an instant.]
[Star-Lord was so shocked he could only mutter to himself, "Oh, man… that's… that's terrifying."]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~