Just as Star-Lord previously categorized the rest of the Guardians as lesser beings, he also didn't see himself as a troublemaker, and by extension, considered that Gamora—someone he admired—must also be a "normal" person. Yet, he completely overlooked the old saying: "birds of a feather flock together." Or perhaps a more fitting phrase here would be "misfits stick together!"
Though Star-Lord looked down on Drax's mindless nature and the Rocket Raccoon's scheming behavior, he had no intentions of striking out on his own. Drax and Rocket were, after all, companions he valued. Otherwise, Star-Lord wouldn't have formed the Guardians of the Galaxy or used the reward money from the Orb incident to buy their spaceship. Although he referred to himself as the ship's captain and saw Drax and the others as part of his crew, he never truly viewed them as subordinates.
The Guardians were soon on their way to Sovereign. However, Star-Lord was unaware that his adoptive father, Yondu, had been keeping a close eye on him. When Yondu learned about Star-Lord buying a spaceship, he felt both proud and distressed. He even refused his men's suggestion to raid the ship.
Despite his tough demeanor, Yondu felt an inexplicable closeness to Star-Lord, and that feeling only deepened over time, growing into what could only be described as parental love. For Yondu, Star-Lord was no longer a mere "delivery" to fulfill a contract. If any of his other men had committed the same mistakes as Star-Lord, Yondu wouldn't have hesitated to punish them. But with Star-Lord, he found himself forgiving him time and again.
Now, however, the same buyer who had originally contracted Yondu to kidnap Star-Lord from Earth had reached out once more. Yondu felt a deep sense of dread, aware of the buyer's dark nature. Before Star-Lord, Yondu had lost count of how many children he'd abducted from different planets for this buyer, children he never saw again, whom he suspected met terrible fates at the buyer's hands. That's why he had refused to hand Star-Lord over, even knowing that the buyer was, in fact, Star-Lord's biological father.
This buyer, Star-Lord's father, had children from all over the galaxy, some from species Yondu could barely comprehend as humanoid. He couldn't fathom how this buyer managed to spread his "seeds" so widely. While many intelligent life forms throughout the cosmos are humanoid, countless other forms exist as well, with some reproducing in ways far removed from humans.
Yondu harbored intense fears about this buyer, who seemed able to father children even with beings of drastically different physiology. But his dread wasn't enough to make him give up Star-Lord. If needed, he would willingly trade his own life for Star-Lord's.
"No matter," the buyer said when Yondu refused. "If you won't give me the child, I'll find him myself. After all, he's become quite famous lately, hasn't he?" The buyer's voice carried a mocking tone, as though amused by Yondu's defiance.
"Try anything, and I won't let you go unpunished!" Yondu's fury surged, even making the arrow at his waist quiver.
"Ha! And what will you do?" the buyer sneered. "Come to my planet and threaten me with that little whistle arrow? Or maybe your ragtag crew will do it? You're just a pack of space pirates, after all. When did scum like you get so righteous?"
The buyer's mocking laughter continued, as he added, "I want my child to take his rightful place. Who are you to stand in my way? Did you really think I wouldn't find you after all these years?"
"You…" Yondu's words trailed off as the communication line abruptly cut off. He fell silent, lost in thought. "I can't just sit here and wait!" he finally declared, his eyes firm with resolve.
But before he could act, a group of Ravagers began surrounding him. To prevent chaos, the remaining Ravagers quickly joined them, forming an intimidating crowd.
"What's this about?" Yondu asked, frowning as he had a hunch about what was going on.
"Boss, they…" Kraglin hesitated, concern evident on his face, but before he could continue, he was interrupted.
"Yondu, we followed you to live well, not to risk our necks fighting someone like Ego!" Taserface sneered, his hideous, scarred face twisted in disdain. "You should've handed that traitor over to Ego from the start. Star-Lord's just an ungrateful brat."
"Taserface! The real traitor is you!" Nebrick roared angrily, stepping forward to defend Yondu. "You're trying to betray the boss, aren't you?!"
"Are we supposed to die for a cause that isn't ours?" Taserface scoffed. "He's our employer, not our ruler. He doesn't get to decide our lives!"
"Employer?" Yondu narrowed his eyes at Taserface. "Are you lecturing me about power and authority among Ravagers? Or have you already found someone to back you up?"
"I don't need backup," Taserface replied, glancing warily at Yondu's arrow, a hint of fear in his eyes but with steady defiance. "I'm just telling you, we're not following you to certain death for Ego's sake!"
"Very well," Yondu nodded. "So that's how it is." He scanned the faces of his Ravager crew and asked, "So, kids, is that what you all think?"
"I mean… Ego controls an entire planet…" a Ravager mumbled, avoiding Yondu's gaze.
And many others shared that sentiment. Even Ravagers standing near Kraglin and Nebrick seemed to feel the same way but hadn't voiced it.
As Taserface and his supporters swelled in numbers, the entire atmosphere aboard the ship shifted, taking on a tense, predatory edge.
"Fine. Those who don't wish to face Ego with me can stay here," Yondu said, flashing a smile. "You're free to continue taking on regular bounties. Those willing to come with me, stand over here."
"Boss…" Nebrick and Kraglin exchanged worried glances, noticing that not all of their own men had chosen to join them.
"It's alright," Yondu reassured them with a calm smile. "You can't force anyone to follow. This is my decision, and I won't hold it against anyone who doesn't join."
Following Yondu's words, even a few of Kraglin and Nebrick's followers wavered, moving to Taserface's side. With numbers now heavily in Taserface's favor, he and his faction looked at Yondu like a pack of wolves eyeing prey.
"Alright, now that's settled, you can leave my ship," Yondu said with a relaxed smile, as if oblivious to the hostility around him. "You've earned enough to get your own ship by now. Maybe not as nice as Star-Lord's, but you've made plenty on the side… Or did you think Star-Lord learned to skim profits on his own?"
"Oh? So you're finally addressing our little side earnings?" Taserface replied with a predatory gleam. "We skimmed because you went soft, Yondu! The weak can't lead, let alone command respect. And a weakling doesn't deserve this ship!"
"Finally, showing your true colors?" Yondu chuckled, unruffled. "A mutiny, then? Well, you did a good job rallying everyone, though you needed my own 'help' to make it this far…"
"Get him!" Taserface shouted, and his followers drew their weapons. They even threw down a strange device that instantly muted all sound aboard the ship, rendering it dead silent.
Taserface's eyes glimmered with triumph; his secret weapon had effectively neutralized Yondu's deadly whistle arrow by blocking all sound. Without his whistle, Yondu's combat strength was severely diminished.
However, in the next moment, a piercing sound echoed in Taserface's mind. He froze, confused, as he suddenly realized that the noise wasn't coming from outside—it was resonating within his own brain.
Before he could react, he collapsed, finally understanding that the noise he'd heard was the whistle arrow piercing through his skull.
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