Nebula and Gamora both knew Thanos far too well.
If he ever discovered Nebula had restored her body, he would hunt her down. There would be no hiding from him — and with Thanos' cruelty, it might only make her end worse.
For now, the safest way was to stay as she was, wait for the right moment, and then finally break away from him completely.
—
On Star-Lord's ship.
Seeing Lock step aboard Nebula's ship with Gamora, the two alien maids, and that calm smile of his, Star-Lord couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety.
"This guy, Lock… just boarding Nebula's ship like that — it's like a pirate boarding a ship. No — worse — it's like the pirate taking the ship."
It had only been a few days since they'd met, but Star-Lord could already feel something for Gamora — something completely different from the one-night flings he'd had with alien women before.
And now Lock looked more charming, more dependable — more dangerous — than ever.
Star-Lord swallowed hard, secretly labeling Lock a rival.
Rocket laughed, slapping the armrest.
"Ha! This is gonna be good. Lock seems to have a type. Red-skinned maids, green-skinned assassin, purple-skinned cyborg… yep, he's collecting the rainbow!"
The two ships calibrated their jumps, then dove into the wormhole.
The stars streaked past — and when they emerged, they were already above Xandar.
Chaos.
Outer space was on fire.
Thousands of combat ships clashed, streaking past one another, raining blaster fire.
On the surface, entire cities burned. The sky was black with smoke. Civilians were screaming, fleeing, searching desperately for shelter.
And in orbit — it loomed.
Ronan's mothership.
It hung in the void like some colossal, ancient beast that had just awakened.
Black as pitch, its shape was wide and predatory, like a great bird of prey spreading its wings — but jagged, assembled from dozens of massive blocks, rough, heavy, terrifying.
Star-Lord's face turned grim.
"Yondu's here. Looks like the Nova Corps actually hired the Ravagers."
Sure enough, three distinct fleets could be seen in orbit.
The first — Ronan's fleet.
Ugly, jagged fighters that looked like someone glued wings to an egg. They were fast, agile, hard to track, and there were so many of them — pouring from the mothership like a swarm of hornets.
The second — Nova Corps' golden fleet.
Triangular ships, sharp-edged, their energy weapons brighter, cleaner, more advanced. Their numbers were massive — but still second to Ronan's swarm.
And the third — Ravager ships.
Big, dark-red hulls, bulkier than a battleship, perfect for hauling loot. Their presence meant the Nova Empire had promised very, very generous payment.
The Nova fleet and the Ravagers fought side by side, holding the line together.
But they were losing.
At first, the numbers were even. But as more and more of Ronan's fighters spewed from the mothership, the Nova-Ravager alliance was outnumbered.
For every one they shot down, two more took their place.
Nova ships began to fall back, forced into defense. Ravager cruisers were surrounded, swarmed, torn apart piece by piece.
If they kept going like this, the mothership would reach the "safe zone" — and when its heavy cannons opened fire on the planet, the death toll on Xandar would be catastrophic.
Yondu's growl came over the comms.
He and the Nova commander had worked out a desperate plan.
Several of Yondu's largest ships roared forward, smashing a path through the enemy swarm, tearing a gap in Ronan's encirclement.
And behind them, the golden Nova capital ships advanced.
Two enormous cannons fired, launching glowing golden warheads, trailing fire as they screamed toward the mothership.
But —
BOOM!
Just a few kilometers from impact, the warheads slammed into something invisible.
A shield.
The sky lit up with a massive golden fireball. The shockwave spread for kilometers, forming a burning wall of plasma that blocked the entire mothership from view.
The blast was enormous — enough to incinerate a small moon.
And yet…
When the fire faded, the mothership's shield shimmered faintly — and nothing else.
Not a scratch.
Yondu bared his sharp teeth and cursed.
"Son of a —! What kind of damn ship has a shield this thick?!"
Nova ships faltered.
If they couldn't break that shield, then once the mothership crossed into range, the planet would burn.
Even a victory would mean Xandar was left in ruins.
Just then —
Yondu's ship received a transmission.
"Hey, Yondu!" Star-Lord's voice came through, cheerful as ever. "What a coincidence!"
"You little brat! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"I'm here to make a little extra money. If the Nova Empire can hire you, why can't they hire me?"
"Damn it, I came here looking for you, and you're out here freelancing? The payout must be insane!"
"Then do me a favor," Star-Lord said. "Patch me through to the Nova Corps — tell them to hire me too."
"Hire you?! Get lost! I already took the contract — can't just break it. And you don't wanna get mixed up in this. Ronan's mothership is too strong. My whole crew might die out here!"
Star-Lord grinned.
"Admit it. You're just scared I'll take a cut of the payout."
Yondu's eyes narrowed.
"You little punk— fine! You want to die so bad, I'll let you join!"
He connected Star-Lord to the Nova Corps command channel.
A hologram appeared — a middle-aged Nova officer in blue armor.
"This is Denarion Thrall, commander of the Nova Corps. Are you Ravagers as well? You have permission to join. Payment terms identical to Yondu's."
Star-Lord raised a hand.
"No, no — I don't want to talk to you. You're not high enough rank."
Thrall's face darkened instantly.
The gall of this pirate — to haggle while Xandar burned!
Even Yondu was about to blow a fuse.
"Quill! You'd rather haggle than fight?! I wouldn't have taken this job if I knew Ronan's ship was this insane!"
Thrall clenched his jaw.
"I am the highest-ranking officer on this battlefield. Here, my authority exceeds even the Nova Prime's. There is nothing I cannot authorize."
Star-Lord grinned slyly.
"What if… I could bring a god to help? Can you authorize that?"
The comm channel went dead quiet.
Even Yondu's usual mocking tone vanished.
"You know a god?" Yondu whispered. "And he actually listens to you?"
"Relax, Yondu. He and I are friends."
Yondu looked unconvinced. Star-Lord, "friends with a god"? That sounded like a scam to milk the Nova Empire for credits.
But Commander Thrall's expression changed.
His tone grew serious.
"Is this the god who appeared at Kyln Prison?"
"Yes."
"What's his strength?"
Thrall knew well — gods varied wildly in power.
Loki was a god, too, but could he stop a mothership? Not a chance.
Star-Lord grinned.
"He's the prince of the gods."
---
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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