"Welcome home, Peter~~~"
Several dark gun barrels were pointed directly at Quill and Gamora.
On the ground, Karl pulled Drax to his feet. Drax looked utterly defeated. He hadn't avenged his family—he had completely underestimated the difference in strength between himself and Ronan.
Bang—!
Rocket's engineering ship slammed into the ground, carving a long trench before finally grinding to a stop.
"You idiots! All of you are brain-dead morons! A bunch of complete fools!!"
Rocket jumped down from the ship, muttering furiously as he stomped over to Drax.
"Quill got himself captured on purpose—and it's all because of you!"
Rocket pointed straight at Drax's nose and shouted.
"This whole thing didn't have to turn out like this! But no—you had to play hero! What made you think you could beat Ronan? Beat his entire army?!"
Drax lowered his head, filled with regret.
"You're right. I was a fool… I believed I could face Ronan and his army alone. All my anger and hatred… were just ways to hide the pain of losing my family."
His voice was low and hoarse.
"Oh, spare me," Rocket snapped. "Who hasn't lost someone? Does that mean the rest of us have to die with you just because you want revenge?!"
Rocket's words hit like a hammer.
Drax opened his mouth to argue—but found no words.
"Ronan has the Stone now. Groot, we're leaving. Right now. We go somewhere far away—preferably the other side of the galaxy."
Rocket waved for Groot to follow. He had no intention of turning into cosmic dust.
"I am Groot~~!"
Groot suddenly replied.
Though Rocket couldn't understand the words, the tone made it obvious—Groot disagreed.
"Ahhhh!"
Rocket grabbed his head in frustration.
He never wanted to be part of this mess. At first he only wanted to collect Yondu's bounty on Quill. Somehow he got dragged into the Orb, and now into Ronan's war.
Rocket just wanted to disappear somewhere nobody could find him.
"You're forcing me into this! I told you from the start we should've just captured Quill and turned him in for the reward! Did anyone listen to me?!"
Rocket kicked a chunk of dead turf over and over while ranting.
Karl looked up at the sky where Ronan and Nebula had already departed. By now they were probably back aboard Ronan's strange block-shaped warship.
Next stop—
Xandar.
---
Inside Ronan's Warship
Ronan stood in the command hall, communicating with Thanos.
"I have found the Orb."
He paced slowly, clearly thinking about something.
"Bring the Orb to me."
Thanos' tone allowed no refusal.
"Of course. That was our agreement."
Ronan spoke casually as he took the Orb from one of his soldiers.
"I give you the Orb. You destroy Xandar for me. But…"
Ronan stopped walking and raised his head toward Thanos' projection.
"Now that I know the Orb contains an Infinity Stone, what do I need you for?"
He spread his hands with a mocking smile.
The moment Ronan learned the Stone could destroy entire planets, he had already decided to ignore his deal with Thanos.
With a sudden motion—
Crack!
He tore the Orb open.
A surge of purple light burst outward, flooding the hall with glowing energy.
"That's the end of our arrangement."
Right in front of Thanos, Ronan reached in and pulled out the Power Stone.
Instantly, violent flames exploded from his hand.
Purple energy surged through his entire body, spreading like lightning.
BOOM!
The floor beneath him cracked apart. Purple energy burst through the ground like magma.
Ronan's body glowed violently, just like the Collector's servant had earlier.
But Ronan's body was far stronger.
Though the power strained him, he slowly managed to contain the Stone's destructive energy.
He raised his hand.
His massive war hammer flew into his grip.
Then he pressed the Power Stone directly into the hammer.
The entire weapon ignited with purple light.
Energy poured from his body into the hammer until the weapon became a vessel for the Stone's power.
When the surge ended, Ronan's eyes glowed with cold violet light.
"Thanos… I will let you watch as I judge Xandar."
"And then—"
"I'll come for you."
His purple gaze stared directly at Thanos' projection.
Then the transmission was cut.
With the Power Stone, Ronan no longer feared anyone.
Not even Thanos.
---
Nebula's Question
Ronan turned and noticed Nebula watching him.
"What do you want to say?"
His expression was indifferent.
"You'll kill my father after destroying Xandar?" Nebula asked.
Her eyes locked onto his.
She wanted the truth.
"Are you trying to stop me?" Ronan asked coldly.
"No."
Nebula shook her head.
"Look at what he's done to me."
Her entire body—except her brain—had been replaced with cybernetic parts by Thanos.
She barely resembled a living being anymore.
Hatred burned inside her.
"If you kill him," she said quietly, "I'll help you destroy a thousand planets."
Ronan smiled faintly.
He said nothing.
But the answer was obvious.
---
The Ravagers' Ship
Yondu was punching Quill repeatedly in the stomach.
"You dared betray me?! You even stole my money!"
He grabbed Quill by the jaw and glared at him.
"When I brought you aboard, you were just a little runt! Those guys wanted to eat you! I saved your life!!"
Quill shouted back.
"Can you use a different story for once?! You've been saying that for twenty years!"
"As if not eating me makes you saints! I've never met normal people who spend all day talking about eating someone!"
"I never saw normal people who spend every day talking about eating someone!"
Quill shouted back.
"You kidnapped me! You took me away from my family!"
Yondu grabbed Quill by the throat.
"Shut up!"
"You don't care about your planet. You're afraid."
"Your heart is weak."
"You were born weak!"
He raised his fist to punch Quill in the face.
"Yondu! Stop! Listen to me!"
Gamora shouted from the side where several Ravagers held her down.
"Ronan took the Infinity Stone! We have to take it back!"
"He's going to destroy Xandar!"
"If we don't warn them, billions of people will die!"
But Yondu didn't even look at her.
His eyes stayed locked on Quill.
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