"That damn Rocket..." Star-Lord muttered under his breath. The Sovereigns had already been condescending enough without giving them actual reason to be offended, but he kept his frustration to himself.
Gamora's expression was troubled as she watched Nebula. Even after everything on Xandar—even after Gamora had tried to save her—the hatred in her sister's eyes burned as bright as ever. Some wounds, it seemed, ran too deep to heal.
"Subject 89P13!" Ayesha snarled, her perfect features twisted with fury. Because of that insolent creature, she'd been humiliated before her own people. The audacity was unforgivable.
The High Evolutionary's cybernetic eye zoomed in on Rocket's image, his obsession growing more intense by the second. "Has 89P13 ever been to Sovereign before?"
War-Pig checked his records quickly. "No, sir! The Sovereigns have never employed them!"
"89P13... where are you hiding?" The High Evolutionary's voice carried a dangerous edge as madness flickered behind his enhanced vision. At his command, both the Orgcorp fleet and Sovereign forces began scouring the galaxy for any trace of the Guardians.
They even contacted Nova Prime, who certainly knew the Guardians had traveled to Earth. But after everything Star-Lord's team had sacrificed to protect Xandar, she wasn't about to betray their location. She gave them the same runaround the Kree Supreme Intelligence had given her—vague non-answers that left the High Evolutionary frustrated but powerless against Xandar's defenses.
[Back aboard the Milano, Rocket's hands flew across the control panel as he prepared for immediate departure.]
["Alright, let's dump the blue cyborg on Xandar and collect our bounty!"]
[As Rocket pulled the throttle, the Milano lifted off smoothly and escaped Sovereign's gravitational pull.]
[Baby Groot pressed his face against the viewport, watching the golden cities shrink into distant specks with wide-eyed fascination.]
[Inside the ship, Star-Lord peeled off his battle-stained shirt, revealing well-defined abs earned through years of space piracy and heroics. He tossed the dirty garment aside, grabbed a clean one, gave it a quick smell test, and pulled it on.]
[Gamora secured Nebula's restraints, testing the magnetic cuffs to ensure they wouldn't release. Her eyes briefly tracked Star-Lord's movements as he dressed.]
[Star-Lord caught her looking and their eyes met for a moment.]
["She had no right to say those things about my father," Star-Lord said quietly, his casual tone not quite hiding his anger. "Who does she think she is?"]
[Though he tried to appear unaffected, anyone who knew Star-Lord could see how deeply comments about his parents cut. Especially his father—the man who remained a complete mystery.]
["I know you're sensitive about family," Gamora replied carefully.]
[Star-Lord's denial came too quickly. "I'm not sensitive. I just don't know anything about him."]
[He paused, then added with obvious discomfort, "And sorry if it seemed like I was flirting with the High Priestess. That wasn't my intention."]
[Gamora tugged Nebula toward the ship's bow. "I wouldn't care if you were."]
[Star-Lord called after her, "I think you would care. That's why I'm apologizing. So... sorry."]
[Gamora continued walking without responding.]
["Gamora is not meant for you, Quill."]
[Drax appeared beside Star-Lord so suddenly that he jumped.]
["Sneaky!" Star-Lord muttered, hand over his heart.]
[Drax ignored the complaint and continued his philosophical discourse. "There are two types of beings in the universe—those who dance, and those who do not."]
["The first time I saw my beloved was during a village celebration."]
[Star-Lord's shoulders sagged as he realized escape was impossible. "Oh, great."]
[Drax pressed on, oblivious to Star-Lord's lack of enthusiasm. "Everyone in the village was dancing except one woman—my Ovette. I knew immediately she was meant for me."]
["Even when the most beautiful music played, she wouldn't even tap her foot. She remained completely still, like a corpse."]
[Despite the morbid comparison, Star-Lord found himself interested. "Sounds... attractive?"]
["I was immediately aroused!"]
[Star-Lord winced. "Right. Got it. I'm a dancer, Gamora isn't."]
["You simply need to find a woman as boring as yourself."]
[Drax clapped Star-Lord on the shoulder with enough force to rattle his bones.]
"Ha! Drax's relationship advice is something else," Scott laughed from the back of the truck. "'Find a boring woman'—that's bold even for him."
"In his mind, women who dance probably lack fighting skills," Natasha observed with a shrug. As someone proficient in both combat and covert operations, she understood Drax's logic, however flawed.
Tony grinned. "Lucky for me, Pepper can both dance and kick ass when necessary."
Captain America gave him a look. Pepper Potts had managed what no one else could—she'd actually tamed Tony Stark.
Star-Lord, still driving, shook his head. "What's wrong with women who can dance?"
Drax remained adamant. "Quill, trust me—women who dance are weak. Women who fight cannot dance."
Star-Lord glanced meaningfully at Gamora.
Gamora immediately noticed his look and scowled. "Why are you staring at me? Watch the road!"
"Nothing! Just... nothing!" Star-Lord quickly refocused on driving.
[Gamora brought Nebula to the ship's central area, where a basket of Yaro roots sat waiting to be prepared.]
["I'm hungry," Nebula demanded. "Give me some of those."]
[Gamora secured the restraint cable to an overhead bracket, her voice flat. "No. They're not ripe yet. Also, I hate you."]
[Nebula stared at her in shock. "You hate me? You abandoned me to steal the Power Stone alone, then acted like some kind of hero! When I break free from these restraints, I'll kill you. I swear it."]
[Gamora glanced at her sister with something like pity. "No. You'll spend the rest of your life in a Xandarian prison. Deal with it."]
[Nebula yanked furiously at her bonds, achieving nothing but frustration.]
[Suddenly, the ship's proximity alarms began blaring. Gamora rushed to the cockpit to assess the threat.]
[Outside the Milano, a formation of golden Sovereign fighters streaked toward them in perfect formation.]
[Star-Lord frowned at his tactical display. "That's weird—we've got a squadron of Sovereign ships on our tail."]
[Gamora studied the readings with confusion. "Why would they pursue us?"]
[Drax spoke up casually, "Probably because Rocket stole some of their batteries."]
[Rocket's head whipped around in panic. "Dude!"]
[He mentally cursed himself for trusting the walking disaster with sensitive information.]
[Drax realized his mistake and attempted damage control. "I mean... he didn't steal anything! I have no idea why they're chasing us! Very mysterious!"]