For 50 + advance chapter: patreon.com/Snowing_Melody
Xandar. The Lower Commercial District.
The heavy, ornate metal sphere—the Cosmic Orb—rolled across the smooth permacrete paving stones with a hollow, metallic clatter. It bounced off the curb and came to a gentle stop right against the toe of a small, polished black shoe.
The petite girl with dark hair tilted her head, her large eyes blinking in apparent bewilderment. She bent down and naturally picked up the silver sphere. She tossed it lightly in the air a few times, weighing it in her palm as if she had just found an ordinary, discarded toy ball at a playground.
The four heavily armed, battered combatants in the alleyway froze mid-brawl, staring at her in absolute horror.
"Hey! Little sister!" Peter Quill was the first to react. He quickly holstered his quad-blasters, forcing the kindest, least-threatening smile he had ever mustered in his life. He raised both hands, palms out, taking a slow, cautious step forward to indicate he meant no harm.
"That thing is... uh, it's very dangerous," Quill coaxed, his voice dripping with exaggerated gentleness. "Put it down quickly and then step away, okay? We don't want to hurt you."
Gamora lowered her Godslayer sword, her brow furrowed into a deep V. Her tone was deadly serious. "He's right, child. That's not a toy. Put it down. Slowly!"
Her dark eyes were sharp, staring intently at the metal sphere in Hermione's hand. Gamora knew the legends of the Infinity Stones. If that girl accidentally triggered the mechanism, half the city block would be vaporized in a storm of purple fire.
"I am Groot," the massive tree-man rumbled, shaking his mossy head, seemingly in full agreement with the lethal assassin. He extended a wooden hand in a placating gesture.
Rocket Raccoon, however, was already losing his patience. He scratched his furry ear with a clawed paw, his tail twitching aggressively.
"What the hell?" Rocket barked, pointing his massive laser rifle toward the pavement. "Where did this little brat come from? Hey! Kid! Put those things down right now! Don't delay our money-making... uh, I mean," he caught Gamora's warning glare, "don't delay our vital efforts to maintain universal peace!"
Despite the yelling, none of them actually made a move to attack. They were mercenaries, thieves, and assassins, but none of them wanted to hurt the seemingly innocent, defenseless civilian girl standing in front of them.
However, Hermione just blinked. A look of profound, innocent confusion washed over her face, as if she didn't understand a single word of the galactic basic they were speaking.
She looked at the Orb. She looked at the four terrifying aliens.
Then, to the absolute astonishment of the four outlaws, instead of putting down the Cosmic Orb... she clutched it tightly to her chest, spun on her heel, and bolted!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I'm Groot?!"
All four of them stood completely stunned, their jaws slack.
What is going on?!
"Stop!" Quill yelled, his panic returning. "Don't run!" Gamora shouted, lunging forward. "Grab her!" Rocket shrieked, slapping Groot's shoulder.
After a brief, microscopic moment of paralyzed surprise, the four of them immediately took off after her, boots pounding against the pavement.
However, something incredibly strange happened.
The little girl looked thin, small, and completely unathletic. Yet, she ran incredibly fast.
Quill ignited his rocket boots, skimming across the ground. Gamora pushed her Zehoberei agility to the absolute limit, vaulting over fruit stands and dodging alien pedestrians. Rocket urged Groot into a massive, thundering sprint.
They tried their absolute best, their lungs burning and muscles aching, but they could only watch helplessly as that small, dark-haired figure lingered just out of reach. She was always exactly thirty feet ahead.
It didn't look like she was running fast—she appeared to be practically skipping, her breathing perfectly even—but it was ridiculously, impossibly fast. It was as if space itself was stretching to keep her out of their grasp.
After running through several winding blocks and crossing two major plazas, Quill was completely exhausted. He leaned against a crystalline lamppost, wheezing. Gamora slowed to a halt, sweating profusely, her chest heaving as she gripped her knees.
Finally, Hermione stopped in the center of a quiet, sunlit courtyard.
She wasn't panting. Not a single hair was out of place. She casually tossed the Cosmic Orb up and down in her right hand like she was tossing an apple. Her face showed zero sign of fatigue, but rather a bright, curious smile.
"Brother and sister, little cat and little tree man," Hermione said in a clear, innocent voice that echoed across the courtyard. "Why are you all so tired after running for such a short time? You don't have much stamina at all."
Quill: "..."
Gamora: "..."
Rocket Raccoon snapped, aiming his gun. "I'm a raccoon! Not a cat!"
"I am Groot..." Groot groaned, leaning heavily against a marble fountain, sounding completely winded.
Looking at Hermione's relaxed, utterly carefree demeanor, the four of them simultaneously had the exact same thought:
Where the hell did this crazy little girl come from? Is she some kind of genetically modified sports student from the Nova Empire military academy?! Her stamina is incredible!
Gamora was terrified. She watched Hermione carelessly toss the Orb higher and higher into the air.
"Stop tossing it!" Gamora cried out anxiously, her voice cracking with genuine terror. "Stop! That thing will explode!"
The raccoon and the tree-man didn't know what was inside the casing, but Gamora knew very well. If the containment field broke and the Power Stone touched organic matter, everyone in the courtyard would be torn apart on the molecular level in a split second.
"Will it explode?" Hermione tilted her head, catching the heavy metal sphere with one hand. She seemed to find the concept genuinely amusing.
Then, under Gamora's horrified, wide-eyed gaze, Hermione grasped the interlocking metal halves of the sphere with both small hands and gently exerted force.
Click.
With a soft, mechanical click, she twisted open the Cosmic Orb.
Gamora threw her arms over her face, bracing for the blinding, world-ending purple energy storm. Quill flinched, squeezing his eyes shut.
But the imagined apocalyptic explosion did not appear.
Inside the hollowed-out sphere, lying quietly in the center, was a... doll. A plastic troll doll wearing a cute little knitted dress.
Hermione reached in and took the doll out. She held it up to her eyes to inspect it, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. She nodded in mock satisfaction. "This doll is quite cute. I think I'll keep it."
Rocket Raccoon and Groot lowered their arms, looking at the toy in complete, utter bewilderment.
After all that... it's just for this broken, ugly little doll?
What brand is so incredibly valuable that it could cause two of the most wanted criminals on the galactic bounty list to fight each other in the street over it?!
Gamora slowly lowered her arms. She stared at the troll doll. Then, she slowly, mechanically, turned her head. Her icy, murderous gaze fixed squarely on Peter Quill.
Quill felt a violent chill run down his spine from the glare. He awkwardly touched his nose, offering a dry, nervous chuckle. "Uh... an accident. Purely an accident."
He had anticipated Gamora or Yondu betraying him. He had paid a vendor on Morag to make a hollow fake, hiding the real Orb in the compartment of his ship, the Milano. He never expected that this reckless, insane Earth girl would bust open the fake and expose his grift right on the spot!
Just then, a series of heavy, hurried footsteps and booming shouts came from the street behind them.
"Don't move! Nova Corps!" "Hey, you four in the courtyard! Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads!"
A squad of heavily armored soldiers dressed in the pristine yellow-and-blue uniforms of the Nova Corps surrounded the courtyard. Their energy rifles were raised and locked on the Guardians.
But the most shocking part wasn't the Corps.
Marching right in the center of the Nova soldiers, leading the charge, was a blue-skinned man dressed in ragged Ravager clothing, chewing casually on a toothpick.
It was Yondu.
Thanks to Hermione's absolute authority and her terrifyingly blunt negotiations with Nova Prime, Yondu and his surviving men had taken on an unexpected "serious job" these past few weeks. They were officially deputized, assisting the Nova Corps in maintaining order in the lower districts of Xandar.
In an instant, Yondu had transformed from an A-list space pirate into an official government employee.
Surprisingly, the results were incredible. Many outlaws, smugglers, and thieves were absolutely not afraid of the stiff, uniformed Nova soldiers. But they were terrified of Yondu and his gang of ruthless, unpredictable Ravagers. As a result, the interstellar criminals in the sector had become vastly more restrained.
It was a sociological miracle that amazed General Roman.
"Who the hell is tired of living?!" Yondu took the lead, shouting angrily as he marched into the courtyard, his red coat billowing. "Daring to cause trouble in my territory, under the protection of Yondu... Moor?!"
Yondu caught himself just in time, forcefully correcting his own name to the one the Witch had bestowed upon him.
His gaze swept aggressively across the scene, fully preparing to take the initiative and give these arrogant troublemakers a brutal taste of Ravager justice.
Then, his red eyes fell on Peter Quill's face.
"..."
Yondu's voice caught instantly in his throat. He swallowed the toothpick.
Quill was equally stunned. He stood frozen, his blasters hanging uselessly at his sides.
He looked at Yondu. Then he looked at the group of pristine Nova soldiers standing behind him, weapons trained on Quill's chest. The two groups worked together seamlessly, clearly a well-oiled machine. It obviously wasn't their first patrol together.
Quill was completely, utterly dumbfounded. His brain short-circuited.
Forget about the pardon Kraglin mentioned. You can just assume that this 'Witch Lady' has a lot of political influence to get their bounties cleared.
But... doesn't this look more like a formal military appointment?! He's literally leading a squad of the Nova Corps?!
"Boss?"
A nearby Nova soldier noticed that Yondu had suddenly stopped moving and was staring blankly at the Star-Lord. The soldier lowered his rifle slightly, asking in confusion.
Yondu snapped violently back to reality. He raised his hand sharply to stop the Nova soldier who was about to move forward to slap cuffs on Quill.
"Wait! Don't do it yet! Hold your positions!"
Upon hearing this, the elite Nova soldiers actually stopped in their tracks. They lowered their weapons to a resting position and stood perfectly still, awaiting Yondu's next instructions with total military discipline.
Quill's eyes widened so far they threatened to pop out of his skull.
Joining the official forces is one thing... but why the hell are regular, highly trained imperial troops now taking direct field orders from a space pirate?!
Reversing the Heavenly Gang! It was madness! The natural order of the universe had been turned completely upside down! He had never seen such a surreal, impossible spectacle in his entire life!
Yondu ignored Quill's ghost-like, horrified expression.
His gaze passed entirely over his adoptive son, passed over the lethal assassin Gamora, passed over the raccoon, and landed directly on the innocent-looking, dark-haired little girl holding the troll doll.
The next second, under everyone's incredulous, breathless gaze, the once aggressive, terrifying Ravager leader moved.
Yondu stepped forward, sweeping his long leather coat back. He knelt down on one knee onto the hard permacrete with perfect, practiced fluidity. He placed his right hand flat across his chest, and bowed his head deeply in absolute submission.
"Lady Witch," Yondu greeted reverently.