When Lock and Star-Lord arrived, they saw Drax the Destroyer leading a group of prisoners surrounding Gamora.
Gamora was strong, yes — but one person against more than a dozen in this narrow prison hall? She was quickly being forced back.
Outside, she could move, dodge, scatter enemies, but here there was no room to retreat.
After just a few exchanges, Drax grabbed her by the throat and pressed a crude dagger to it.
Drax growled:
"Thanos sent Ronan to kill my people, my wife, my child. Today, I kill one of his to avenge them."
Gamora said quickly:
"I am not Thanos' family, not Ronan's ally! I want to kill them too!"
"Lie! Many of us saw you fight for Thanos!"
"I was forced! Half of my people were slaughtered by him. He took me as a child, raised me as an assassin. I could not resist…"
But words could not erase genocide.
Drax's dagger inched forward — when suddenly it stopped midair.
Golden divine energy wrapped the blade, holding it still as though pressing it against stone.
Drax's arm trembled but could not move forward.
Star-Lord jumped in:
"She's betrayed Thanos and Ronan! And Ronan will come after her — we can use her as bait. Then…"
He made a cutting gesture across his own neck.
Drax blinked.
"Why do you put your finger on Ronan's throat?"
Star-Lord was stunned. First time he'd met someone who didn't get that gesture.
"It means kill him. Cut his throat. End him."
"I cannot kill him with my finger. I will use a knife."
"Uh—yes, that's what I meant!"
"No. Two different things. You say finger. I say knife."
"Fine, fine — you use a knife. Just let her go first! The enemy of our enemy is our friend. She can help us kill Ronan."
Drax turned his head. His eyes landed on Lock, who still stood there with one hand raised.
"You. Strong one. You are the one stopping my blade. Do you agree?"
The alien criminals standing near Lock all jumped. They hadn't even realized someone was right next to them until Drax spoke.
Lock said slowly:
"What she said is true. In fact, it's worse. Her people were wiped out. And Thanos forced her and her sister to fight to the death. Whoever lost — had a piece of her body cut off, replaced with machinery."
Gamora froze.
Very few knew this — not even Ronan.
How did this man know?
Gamora and Nebula truly had once cared for each other.
But Thanos made them fight, again and again.
Nebula never won, not once.
Each time she lost, she hated Thanos — but also Gamora.
Why did she never hold back? Did she ever treat Nebula as a sister?
Even so — in the most crucial moments — neither had ever been able to kill the other.
Hearing this, Drax finally lowered his dagger.
The other prisoners stared, surprised.
They had not thought Gamora — the feared daughter of Thanos — could also be a victim.
Only Star-Lord broke the silence, staring at her chest and muttering:
"No wonder it's so flat."
Gamora's eyes flashed.
Her long leg whipped up in a blur — and crack!
Star-Lord was kicked square in the face, flying back.
He quickly jumped up, backing away with a grin, hands raised:
"Hey, hey, hey! I was saving you!"
"Then thank you — and your entire family!"
Gamora's kicks came again, sharp and fast, each one leaving afterimages.
Gamora was tall — even in flat boots, she was nearly Star-Lord's height. In heels, she was taller. Her long legs were like whips, striking with power.
But Star-Lord was no ordinary man either. He had survived years as an outlaw, after all.
Though dodging left and right in a panic, he avoided every blow — barely.
Just then, Rocket and Groot ran in.
They saw Star-Lord and Gamora fighting and froze.
"Uh… what are we doing?" Rocket asked.
"Is it over yet? Or do you want to sell stuff too?" Star-Lord yelled, still ducking.
Gamora gave an annoyed snort, then stopped kicking.
The four of them gathered aside to talk — away from prying ears.
But Lock followed them.
Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot all turned wary eyes on him.
Lock just shrugged:
"I know you plan to sell the Orb. I am the buyer. Consider selling it to me."
The four froze.
No one else knew they had the Orb.
Even the Nova Corps who arrested them had no idea — they thought it was just a random theft.
The Orb right now was still locked in the prison's storage like an ordinary item.
Gamora narro,wed her eyes:
"Can you afford it? The other buyer is paying forty billion star-coins."
"Hiss…"
"I am Groot!"
Star-Lord, Rocket, and Groot all sucked in a breath.
Forty billion star-coins were an unfathomable sum.
Star-Lord's bounty was only four coins.
It was that low bounty that had made Rocket shout, "I'm going to be rich!" before tackling Star-Lord earlier — which got them all arrested together.
The price Gamora just quoted was enough to buy a small planet.
Star-Lord asked quickly:
"Who's the buyer?"
"T, Collector. Taneleer Tivan."
"No wonder — only he can pay that much."
Tivan was famous across the galaxy. His Tivan Group had developed Knowhere — the head of a dead Celestial.
He was a collector of rare and unique things — even intelligent lifeforms.
Asgard had once trusted him enough to store the Aether with him, separate from the Tesseract. That alone said much.
But Lock just smiled.
"I have no such money. And I don't plan to pay."
The four instantly tensed, closing in around him.
Lock sighed.
If he didn't show strength, they wouldn't listen.
He raised one hand.
An invisible pressure crashed down.
All four froze.
Star-Lord and Rocket's faces turned red — they couldn't even twitch.
Groot's branches shot out, but stopped midair, flattened against nothing, as though pressed by invisible glass.
After a few seconds, Lock let go.
The pressure vanished.
They all gasped for air, sweat running down their foreheads.
Lock said calmly:
"The Orb is in the prison locker. If I wanted to steal it, I wouldn't need your permission."
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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