Chapter 27 – Star-Lord
"Hey… bro, did you drop this? A hundred galactic coins?"
Star-Lord turned around, blinking at the stranger who had suddenly spoken to him. He froze for half a second, then broke into an easy, friendly grin.
"Yeah, that's mine. You're a real good guy, man…"
As he spoke, Star-Lord smoothly reached out and plucked the crisp hundred-galactic-coin bill from between the young man's fingers.
He gave the "good guy" a grateful nod, then hurried off toward a shop not far from the fountain plaza.
That store belonged to one of the many interplanetary brokers. A place where bounty hunters and smugglers often unloaded their less-than-legal loot, far from the eyes of the authorities.
Meanwhile, the so-called "good guy"—none other than Blake Thorne—remained where he was, watching Star-Lord's retreating back with an amused smile.
Calmly, he slipped the Cosmic Orb into his pocket.
After getting what he wanted, Blake didn't rush away at all. Instead, he wandered over to a nearby bench, sat down comfortably, and waited.
He was waiting for the show to begin.
And sure enough, less than two minutes later, Star-Lord burst out of the shop, his face twisted in pure fury.
The Cosmic Orb he had fought so hard to obtain…
Was gone.
Just ten minutes ago, when he'd stepped off his ship on Planet Xandar, he had personally tucked that Orb against his body. How could it vanish in the blink of an eye?
It didn't take long for the memory to hit him like a slap to the face.
That hundred-galactic-coin bill.
Star-Lord's eyes narrowed as he scanned the entire plaza, his gaze sharp and predatory, searching for the shameless thief.
But before he could take more than a step—
A long leg wrapped in a black combat boot flew at him and slammed into his body.
A heavy impact cracked through the air, and Star-Lord was sent sprawling across the ground, his body thrown backward, his head snapping up as he hit.
Looking down at him coldly was a green-skinned woman.
Gamora.
The adopted daughter of Thanos.
Without wasting a second, she crouched and began searching Star-Lord from top to bottom—his pockets, his belt, every hidden fold of his clothes—looking for the Cosmic Orb.
But there was nothing.
"…Did he already sell it?" Gamora muttered, suspicion lacing her voice.
Just as she was about to turn toward the shop to confirm it, Star-Lord's eyes flew open. He shoved her away with all his strength.
He glared at the green-skinned woman with a murderous stare—but had no intention of fighting her.
Right now, there was only one thing in his mind.
Find that disgusting thief.
Stealing the Orb was already bad enough.
But leaving behind a hundred galactic coins, like he was being mocked?
That was an insult Star-Lord could never forgive.
A few seconds later, his gaze locked onto Blake Thorne.
Blake was sitting casually on a park bench, relaxed like nothing in the universe was wrong.
Blake's face was calm, a faint smile resting on his lips, as if he had been waiting for Star-Lord to find him all along.
Star-Lord's teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked.
He shot forward, looking like he was about to beat Blake into the ground—
But before he could reach him, a heavily armed raccoon and a towering tree-like creature—Rocket Raccoon and Groot—leapt down from the skybridge above the plaza.
They tossed out a massive net, trapping Star-Lord inside.
Not far away, Gamora saw this and immediately abandoned her plan to chase Star-Lord.
She turned and headed straight for the shop instead, convinced that he must have sold the Orb there.
At that exact moment, Star-Lord drew his energy blaster and fired, shredding through the ultra-durable net that bound him.
Free again, he raised his weapon and aimed it straight at Rocket.
Beside Rocket, Groot only growled, a low rumble coming from deep in his chest.
"I am Groot…"
Seeing the irritated alien, Star-Lord quickly raised his left hand—the one not holding his gun—and pointed straight at Blake as he shouted:
"Hey! The Cosmic Orb isn't on me anymore! That sneaky bastard stole it! How about we team up, steal it back, sell it, and split the profit fifty-fifty? Don't let someone like—"
He never got to finish.
Gamora appeared in front of Blake in a blur.
Without a word, she threw a sharp uppercut toward the lower right side of Blake's jaw.
According to the training she'd received from the "Purple Potato"—her nickname for Thanos—a strike to that spot was enough to knock most humanoids out cold.
But that day, Gamora was the one who got a shock.
Blake casually tilted his body, letting the punch slice through empty air.
Then he moved.
His own fist shot forward, fast and precise, landing cleanly against Gamora's jaw.
The blow wasn't brutal enough to cause serious injury.
But it was perfect.
In an instant, Gamora lost consciousness.
Her powerful body went limp and collapsed to the ground, dropping like overcooked noodles.
That was when the Nova Corps patrol fleet from Planet Xandar finally arrived.
More than a dozen patrol ships descended, activating advanced gravity-based weapons that instantly locked all four of them in place.
"Drop your weapons! By order of the Xandar Public Security Act, you are charged with mass brawling, endangering public facilities, and carrying lethal weapons in a public area. You are all officially under arrest!"
— — —
And just like that, Blake Thorne, Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot were thrown into the highest-security prison in the galaxy.
The Kyln.
A massive detention complex built across an isolated Xandarian planet, where the entire surface had been transformed into one colossal prison.
Of course, getting arrested and locked up like this wasn't an accident for Blake.
It was part of the plan.
Because only by sticking with this group could he eventually meet the leader of the Chitauri forces—
Ronan the Accuser.
And if luck was on his side…
Maybe he would even find Loki.
— — —
Watching Blake Thorne walk ahead of him in a prisoner's uniform, Star-Lord felt his blood boil.
If that shameless thief hadn't stolen the Orb, how could he have ended up in a place like this?
Right now, he should've been vacationing on some exotic planet, swimming in billions of galactic credits from the sale!
If Blake knew what was going through Star-Lord's head, he might've turned around and slapped him on the spot.
Because even if Blake hadn't stolen the Orb…
Star-Lord would've ended up in this prison anyway.
Star-Lord wasn't the only one fuming.
At the very back of the line, Gamora looked just as frustrated.
As Thanos's elite assassin, she had destroyed hundreds of civilizations and left countless bodies in her wake.
And today…
She hadn't even managed to land a single proper attack before being knocked out by that man.
Even though she knew she had underestimated him, she still had to admit one thing.
That man…
He was incredibly strong.
Why don't I use this man to go against Thanos…?
The unexpected thought suddenly surfaced in Gamora's mind.
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