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The Bridge of the Eclector.
"I'm not running anymore! We swear it on the stars! I'll never run again!"
The surviving Ravagers kowtowed repeatedly, their foreheads striking the cold, metal deck plates with loud, rhythmic thuds. The smell of ozone and vaporized flesh still hung heavily in the recycled air, a pungent reminder of the Witch's wrath.
Hermione stood above the groveling pirates, her face a mask of absolute, terrifying apathy. She slowly tucked her wand back into her robes.
"Alright," she said, her voice flat, cutting through their frantic apologies. "I know you're all loyal now. That's enough."
A collective, shuddering breath of relief swept through the room. Everyone felt as if a heavy, invisible blade had just been lifted from their necks. They carefully scrambled to their feet, heads bowed and eyes locked firmly on the floorboards, absolutely terrified to breathe too loudly. In the silence, every single man was secretly, profoundly glad they hadn't joined the mutiny.
Hermione ignored them. She raised her hand, tracing a circle of golden, burning sparks in the air. The portal hissed open, revealing the plush, sunlit interior of the VIP lounge on Xandar. Without a backward glance, she stepped through, and the gateway snapped shut behind her.
As soon as the golden sparks faded, Yondu Udonta let out a long, ragged exhale. He wiped a thick layer of cold sweat from his blue forehead.
"Get up, all of you!" Yondu barked, his voice hoarse but regaining its usual gravelly authority.
He looked at Kraglin and the loyalists. His face was still grim, the stress carving deep lines around his red eyes, but his tone softened a fraction. "Pack up your gear and prep the hyperdrive. We're leaving."
Kraglin paused, rubbing a bruise on his cheek from where the mutineers had hit him. "Boss? Where exactly are we going?"
"To Xandar," Yondu said in a deep voice, striding toward his command chair.
"What?!" Kraglin and the group of Ravagers gasped, their eyes widening in fresh panic. "Boss, are you kidding me? If this dreadnought gets anywhere near their orbital grid, the Nova Corps will blast us into cosmic dust! We're wanted in all twelve sectors!"
"Hmph," Yondu snorted. He sank into his leather chair, recalling the absurd, surreal conversation Hermione had just had with Nova Prime. His heart was filled with a dizzying mix of disbelief and awe. "The Witch has already spoken to Nova Prime. We're exempt now."
"Exemption?!" Kraglin's jaw dropped. "We can now openly enter Xandar?!" another pirate squeaked.
The Ravagers were initially incredulous, staring at their captain to see if he was suffering from space-madness. But as Yondu's serious expression held, their disbelief rapidly morphed into immense, explosive joy.
That was Xandar! The gleaming capital of the Nova Empire! One of the most prosperous, heavily defended planets in the universe!
Usually, they couldn't even jump into the neighboring system without their proximity alarms screaming and Nova Starblasters hunting them down. Now? Now they could actually sail right into the capital without looking over their shoulders?
In an instant, everyone's gaze towards Yondu shifted. They looked at him with profound admiration.
The Boss is a genius! they thought. He managed to latch onto such a terrifyingly powerful patron! Now we have diplomatic immunity!
Seeing the greedy, excited glints returning to his men's eyes, Yondu slammed his fist down on the console.
"Listen up, you bunch of degenerates!" Yondu roared, silencing the bridge. "When we get to Xandar, you better behave yourselves! No stealing, no brawling, no causing trouble! The Witch went out of her way to officially vouch for us. If you dare to cause her any embarrassment or make things difficult for her... you saw what she did to the mutineers! I won't even try to save you. I'll shoot you myself!"
"Yes, Boss!" "We promise to be angels!" "Honest as a Xandarian priest, Boss!"
The crew quickly patted their chests, offering frantic assurances. They were terrified that this hard-won, miraculous opportunity would slip away. The temptation of being able to drink, gamble, and move freely on the paradise world of Xandar was simply too great to jeopardize.
Xandar. The Capital City.
The artificial climate of Xandar was perfect—a balmy seventy-two degrees with a gentle breeze.
General Roman was personally accompanying Hermione across a high-altitude, open-air pedestrian bridge, enthusiastically introducing her to the rich customs, towering geometric architecture, and vibrant culture of the Nova Empire.
Suddenly, the encrypted communicator on Roman's wrist shrieked.
"General!" a panicked voice crackled through the speaker. "A massive Ravager dreadnought has just breached the atmosphere! It's approaching Sector 4!"
Almost simultaneously, a shadow eclipsed the three suns of Xandar.
The space directly above the pristine, civilian berthing area distorted wildly. The massive, heavily armed, rust-colored Ravager warship broke through the fluffy white clouds, its massive repulsor engines roaring like dying beasts as it slowly descended over the pristine city.
On the ground below, chaos erupted.
Countless residents and tourists from hundreds of different ethnic groups—pink-skinned Krylorians, blue-skinned Xandarians, and cybernetic travelers—stopped their sightseeing and shopping. They looked up at the sky, their eyes widening in sheer, primal panic as the menacing pirate vessel blotted out the light.
"Ravagers! The Ravagers have invaded!" "Run! Get to the shelters!" "Where is the Nova Corps?! Shoot it down!"
The beautiful, orderly plazas instantly devolved into a screaming, stampeding riot.
Up on the bridge, General Roman stared at the slowly descending, ugly giant ship. The anti-aircraft cannons on the dreadnought were fully visible, bristling like iron teeth. He slowly turned his head to look at Hermione, who was standing beside him with her hands casually tucked into her robes, completely unfazed by the panic below.
Roman's lips twitched involuntarily. "Your Excellency... are these the 'few' prisoners you mentioned?"
Hermione blinked, turning her innocent, dark eyes to him. She nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes. That is my ship full of prisoners. They're very well-behaved now."
General Roman: "..."
He gave a deeply helpless, pained wry smile. He quickly tapped his communicator, overriding the city's emergency broadcast system.
"Citizens of Xandar, do not panic," Roman's amplified voice boomed across the city squares, trying to project calm. "The Ravager vessel has entered Xandarian airspace under the direct supervision and diplomatic custody of an esteemed Envoy. I repeat, this is not an invasion. Please remain calm."
The announcement barely managed to quell the riot, though citizens still scrambled away from the landing zone, watching the ugly ship touch down with extreme suspicion.
In the distance, standing in the deep, cool shadows beneath a towering glass skyscraper, a solitary figure watched the spectacle.
Shrouded in a heavy black cloak, the cyborg assassin Nebula silently observed the Ravager dreadnought settling onto the tarmac right next to the elegant, golden Asgardian skiff. Her cybernetic eye whirred, zooming in on the insignias.
"How could Asgardian royalty... be mixed up with Yondu's Ravager trash?"
Nebula spoke in a low, hoarse, synthetic whisper, her tone tinged with cold confusion. "This anomaly might affect Father's plan to seize the Power Stone from Morag... No. I must not engage. We must inform Father of this variable as soon as possible."
With a soft hum of servos, the figure melted seamlessly back into the shadows, disappearing from the bustling city without a trace.
One Month Later.
"Hey hey hey, hey hey hey..." "Come and get your love..."
Redbone's upbeat, funky bassline pumped loudly through the foam earpieces of a Walkman.
In the bustling, lower-level commercial district of Xandar, a man wearing a red leather Ravager jacket and a casual swagger strolled through the crowds. He hummed along to the tune, completely in his own world. In his right hand, he casually tossed a heavy, ornately carved metal sphere up and down like a baseball.
Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord (as he fiercely preferred to be called), felt great. He was the son of a celestial, the man who would one day punch Thanos in the face, a demigod living in a mortal shell.
But mostly, right now, he was just an idiot with a very valuable stolen artifact.
Suddenly, Quill stopped in his tracks, pulling his headphones down around his neck. He narrowed his eyes, peering through the crowd of alien merchants. He spotted a very familiar, scrawny figure buying roasted meat on a stick not far ahead.
"Kraglin?"
Quill quickly and cautiously approached, weaving through the dense crowd, keeping his head down.
Kraglin seemed to sense someone approaching. He turned around, grease on his chin, and saw Quill. He was stunned for a microsecond before his face broke into an expression of absolute, overjoyed relief.
"Quill! By the stars, you're finally back! That's great!"
Quill looked around warily, pulling Kraglin into the shadow of a neon-lit awning. "Keep your voice down, man! What are you doing walking around the capital? Aren't you afraid of being captured by the Nova Corps? You've got a bounty on your head!"
"Hey, don't even mention the bounties!" Kraglin explained excitedly, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. "We've all pledged our absolute allegiance to a great woman! A Lord! Thanks to her, the Nova Prime wiped our slates clean! We can now move freely on Xandar!"
Quill frowned, deeply confused. "A woman?"
"Yeah! The Witch!" Kraglin grabbed Quill's shoulders. "By the way, where's the Cosmic Orb? Did you get it from Morag? Hurry up and come with me, Yondu is waiting! We need to present it to the Witch immediately!"
Quill's eyes flickered. He looked down at the metal orb in his hand, then back up at Kraglin. He gave a highly apologetic, charming smile.
"Kraglin, buddy... I'm so sorry..."
Bang!
Taking advantage of Kraglin's momentary lapse in guard, Quill swung a vicious right hook, punching his old crewmate squarely in the jaw. Kraglin's eyes rolled back, and he slumped forward, out cold.
Quill caught him and quickly, quietly dragged his unconscious body into a deserted, garbage-filled alleyway nearby, propping him up against some crates.
"Witch-sama? Please," Quill curled his lip, dusting off his jacket.
He wasn't stupid. He knew that for a notorious, filthy Ravager crew to be able to roam around Xandar openly, the person backing them must have an insanely powerful background. But Quill had finally gotten out from under Yondu's thumb. He had no desire to instantly become some new, mysterious warlord's subordinate.
He had already planned it all out: he had the Cosmic Orb. He would go it alone, sell it to the Broker for a massive mountain of units, and live a carefree, luxurious life on a pleasure planet from then on. Why would he hand over his retirement fund to Yondu and some 'Witch'?
Adjusting his Walkman, Quill turned to leave the alleyway.
"Hey! Look what we've found! Another Ravager!"
Quill froze. He slowly looked up.
Standing on top of a rusted dumpster at the alley entrance was a genetically modified raccoon holding a massive, high-tech holographic scanner. The raccoon was perched comfortably on the shoulder of a towering, bark-covered tree-man.
"There are so many Ravagers crawling around lately," Rocket Raccoon complained loudly, smacking the side of his scanner. "Too bad, because of that damn Witch they're working for, all their Nova wanted posters have been canceled! There's absolutely zero bounty if we catch them. It's infuriating! I wanted to shoot something today!"
The towering tree-man next to him slowly shook his mossy head. "I am Groot."
"I refuse to believe I can't find someone in this city to exchange for units!" Rocket grumbled, keeping his scanner sweeping over the alley, undeterred.
The next second, the scanner's crosshairs locked squarely onto Peter Quill's red jacket. The device beeped enthusiastically, flashing green.
"Ha!" Rocket grinned, baring his sharp teeth. "Found him! This guy's still got an active bounty from Yondu! Forty thousand units! We're rich, Groot!"
"I am Groot!"
"Stop! Don't you run, you walking payday!"
Seeing that things were going from bad to worse, Quill didn't hesitate. He spun on his heel and took off running down the narrow alleyway. Rocket Raccoon pulled a massive, double-barreled laser rifle from his back and immediately gave chase, riding on Groot's charging shoulders.
Quill burst out of the alley and into a sunlit courtyard, panting heavily.
"Hand over the Orb!"
A lithe, deadly figure in black leather suddenly descended from the sky, landing gracefully in front of Quill, completely blocking his escape path. It was Gamora, the deadliest woman in the galaxy.
"Another one!" Rocket Raccoon yelled, sliding to a halt as his scanner beeped even louder. His eyes lit up like slot machines as he scanned Gamora. "Wow! This green one has an even higher bounty! Murder, assassination, jaywalking! I'm really lucky today!"
"I am Groot!"
In an instant, the courtyard exploded into violence.
Quill ignited his rocket boots, flying backward to avoid Gamora's sweeping leg kick. Rocket Raccoon opened fire, golden blasts of energy searing the air. Groot extended his wooden arms like massive whips, trying to entangle Gamora, who effortlessly drew her Godslayer sword, slicing through the branches and lunging at Quill.
It was a chaotic, four-way brawl in the middle of a bustling Xandarian street. Energy blasts scorched the pavement, vines whipped, fists flew, and steel clashed. The scene was pure, kinetic mayhem.
In the midst of the chaos, Gamora delivered a spinning kick to Quill's chest. He stumbled, gasping for air.
The heavy metal Cosmic Orb slipped from his desperate grasp.
It arced through the air, hitting the paved stone with a loud clatter, and began to roll rapidly down the sloped street, away from the fighters.
It rolled, and rolled, bouncing off the curb, until it finally bumped gently to a stop.
It stopped right at the feet of a petite, dark-haired teenage girl who was taking a leisurely stroll through the market, casually eating a bright red apple.
Hermione Granger took a bite of her apple with a crisp crunch.
She slowly looked up, her dark eyes settling on the four battered, heavily armed maniacs who had suddenly frozen mid-brawl. Then, she looked down at the immensely powerful, universe-ending Infinity Stone resting casually against her shoe.
She blinked, looking completely, utterly bewildered.