In the Sanctuary Galaxy, deep within the scorched remnants of a forgotten world...
Ronan the Accuser stood atop a jagged cliff, his warhammer embedded in the cracked earth beneath him. He roared into the empty sky, fury shaking the air.
"Thanos! Your daughter's betrayal has become my burden?!"
"You dare make me pay for your bloodline's disobedience?!"
Across from him, suspended in the air by unseen cosmic forces, floated a colossal obsidian throne.
Resting upon it was a towering figure, silent and immovable, Thanos, the Mad Titan, eyes glowing faintly with disdain.
The air around Ronan grew heavy as the Mad Titan responded.
"Ronan."
"The only thing I don't take seriously… is you."
Ronan's jaw clenched, but he said nothing as Thanos continued.
"Our agreement was simple. You retrieve the Orb, deliver to me the Power Stone. In return, I annihilate Xandar."
"Yet here you stand, empty-handed."
Then, with a flick of his fingers, Thanos unleashed a wave of pure, crushing pressure.
"Fail me again…"
"And I'll turn the rivers of Hala red with Kree blood."
The force pressed Ronan to one knee. Sweat beaded on his brow as the weight of Thanos' wrath bore down on him like a dying star. Yet even as he bowed, Ronan's eyes burned with rage and defiance.
Thanos leaned back on his throne, unimpressed.
"Nebula will assist you." He said at last.
"She will find Gamora and retrieve the Orb. Do not disappoint me again."
The transmission faded.
Back aboard the Dark Aster, Ronan stormed into the command chamber, eyes alight with fury. His warhammer thudded against the floor as he barked his order.
"Set course for Kyln… the Kyln Prison! Let the Nova Corps feel the wrath of Kree vengeance!"
Meanwhile, in Kyln Prison…
Behind reinforced bars and humming force fields, Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora sat in the middle of a hostile mess hall.
Many prisoners eyed Gamora with barely concealed hatred.
"You know who that is?" One inmate snarled to another. "That's Gamora. Thanos's assassin."
"She's butchered more people than this entire prison combined."
Across the room, Drax the Destroyer rose from his seat, his eyes fixed on her like a predator stalking prey.
"You murdered my wife. My daughter. Their blood stains your hands."
Gamora stood tall but calm.
"And if killing me would bring them back, I wouldn't stop you." She said.
"But I'm not your enemy now. I've left Thanos. I've betrayed him. That's why I'm here."
Drax took a step forward, seething.
Quill jumped between them, hands up.
"Whoa, whoa, big guy. Let's maybe not kill the person who knows how to sell the Orb. You want revenge? You can't spend it if you're dead."
Gamora's eyes narrowed.
"I know someone willing to pay four billion Units for that Orb."
Rocket's ears perked up. He tilted his head, interest sparked.
"Four billion?" Rocket said slowly. "Units?"
Groot nodded as if he suddenly found her more interesting.
Drax growled. "If this is a trick—"
"It's not," Gamora cut in.
"Help me get out of here, and I'll take you to Knowhere. We make the deal, split the profit. Then you can decide if I still need to die."
Quill smirked.
"You know what? I like money more than grudges. Let's call this a fragile alliance."
Rocket grinned and stretched his fingers.
"Alright, time to blow this joint."
With Rocket's mechanical genius, a stolen security band, and Groot's overwhelming brute strength, the ragtag crew caused chaos inside the prison. Sirens blared.
The guards barely had time to respond before the escape was underway.
As the five fugitives commandeered a vessel, Quill looked back at the chaos they left behind and laughed.
"I can't believe that worked."
Gamora gave him a sidelong glance.
"Get used to it. If we survive, we'll be legends."
Quill grinned.
Thus, the first threads of the Guardians of the Galaxy were spun, fragile and chaotic, bound not by trust, but by desperation, greed… and maybe the first sparks of something more.
No sooner had the Guardians fled the confines of Chien Prison than the sky darkened.
The Dark Aster, Ronan's dreadnought, descended like an omen of doom.
Its shadow stretched across the prison complex as alarms echoed through the broken halls, alarms that no one would answer.
Within moments, the battleship's main guns lit up the sky.
There was no resistance. The prison lay in chaos after the breakout, its systems compromised, its guards disoriented.
Ronan stood on the bridge of the Dark Aster, fists clenched around his warhammer.
"They were here." He growled. "The Orb was here, and you let them slip away."
His lieutenants said nothing. There was no excuse.
Ronan's fury erupted.
"Kill them all. I want every last body in this pit turned cold."
"But sir, the guards~"
"No exceptions." His voice was ice. "No mercy."
Moments later, the Dark Aster's purge began. Guards. Inmates. Everyone. The fires of judgment swept through Chien like a cleansing storm.
Back on the bridge, Ronan's burning gaze swept over star maps.
"Dispatch search parties across the quadrant. Use every scout, every spy. I want Quill and his crew found. Track the cosmic aura at any cost."
As the scanners recalibrated, Ronan stood before a holo-image of the Power Stone.
"Thanos thinks he can use me…"
"But once I wield this gem, I will be the destroyer of Xandar. Not his pawn."
Several Days Later
The Guardians had flown hard and fast, cutting across the stars under cover of stealth and luck. They avoided Nova patrols, Kree probes, and Ravager traps.
Finally, the vast and nightmarish mining colony known as Knowhere loomed before them, a severed Celestial's head hollowed out for trade, crime, and secrets.
As they docked in a quiet corner of the floating corpse-city, Gamora took the lead.
"We'll use the darkline channels to reach him. The Collector won't deal unless it's off the record."
"Great," Rocket grumbled. "The creepy guy who hoards dead space-pets. Can't wait."
Inside the Collector's Vault
Among towering glass cases and stasis pods glowing with strange lights, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector, was mid-lecture.
"Soren, observe, this artifact was forged in the star-core remnants of Grizu-9. It pulses with psychic resonance! You can feel it, yes?"
Soren, cloaked in silence and mystery, said nothing. They examined the artifact briefly… then tossed it onto a pile of similarly "priceless" items they'd been given over the past few weeks.
Unfazed, the Collector moved on eagerly.
"And this, ah! This is the last living specimen of the Aquelari siren-mermaids. Their biology is addictive."
"Their song, lethal. If you're interested, of course…"
Soren arched an eyebrow.
"I'll take it."
"For research."
The Collector beamed.
Despite the failures of his top chemists, who had yet to recreate a mythical serum formula Soren had mentioned, Tivan grew ever more obsessed.
It wasn't about the serum anymore. It was about owning the one being he couldn't replicate.
"Ah, Soren," He sighed.
"You truly are my most exquisite guest."
Just then, a servant entered, head bowed low.
"Master. You… have visitors. They sent word through darkline. Coded message: 4.9."
Tivan waved his hand impatiently.
"I'm not receiving visitors. Not when I have Soren here."
The servant hesitated, then glanced nervously at Soren before continuing.
"But, Master… one of them is from Earth."
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream