Lock had no choice but to stop.
No matter how fast he was, he could not be faster than a trigger signal.
And simply shooting Ronan or cutting off his hand would be useless — the detonation command would still be sent.
Dozens of Star-Destroyer Bombs would go off at once.
Even if Lock summoned every ounce of divine power into a shield, he could protect maybe a kilometer-wide area at best.
Everything else on Xandar would be turned into hellfire.
Seeing Lock freeze in place, ten thousand meters away, Ronan burst into laughter.
He finally understood — this god who terrified him had no way to stop him from afar.
"So this is your so-called godhood?" Ronan sneered. "Did Thanos kill so many gods along the way that now only you remain?"
"One day, you will meet him. And then, you and your homeworld will share Xandar's fate."
Lock said nothing. He simply began to circle Ronan from a distance, slowly closing the arc.
Meanwhile, his divine voice whispered directly into Peter Quill's mind.
"Quill… listen to me carefully. Whatever I tell you to do next, you do it. Immediately. No hesitation."
Star-Lord blinked but gave the smallest nod.
Ronan was reaching the crescendo of his mad speech. When it ended, Lock knew, Ronan would press the button.
But Lock wasn't in position yet.
So he gave the order.
"Quill," Lock's voice rang again, calm and firm. "Dance."
"…What?!"
Star-Lord's brain almost short-circuited.
If anyone else had told him to do that right now, he'd have screamed obscenities at them.
This was the most critical moment in Xandar's history — and he was being asked to dance?
"Don't think. Jump!" Lock's voice brooked no argument.
With no time to think, Quill did the only thing he could — he opened his mouth and blurted out the first tune that came to him:
"Hey (hey)… what's the matter with your head… yeah… yeah… yeah…"
And then, gods help him, he started to move his body.
At first, it was awkward — but a few verses in, he started to slip into his familiar rhythm.
Of course, without actual music and given Quill's very questionable dancing skills, the sight was… painful.
Even Lock had to resist the urge to cover his eyes.
No wonder Rhodey once threatened to knock him out with a stick in that other timeline — it really was that bad.
Everyone nearby just stared, dumbfounded.
For a moment, they even forgot to be afraid.
"Gamora!" Quill shouted mid-dance, "Come on, dance with me!"
Gamora's head shook like a rattle. At that moment, she wished she had never met him.
If she had to die, she would rather be vaporized by a Star-Destroyer Bomb than humiliate herself like that.
"Yondu, my old man! Join in!"
Yondu's arrow whistled into the air and hovered threateningly. "You call me again, boy, I swear I'll shoot you in the ass right now!"
"Rocket!"
"Shut up and spin by yourself!"
Even though no one joined him, Quill's ridiculous display had the desired effect — all eyes, including Ronan's, were locked on him.
Lock was counting on this.
He was exploiting the threads of destiny.
In the original timeline, Ronan had died right after Quill's stupid dance distracted him.
That meant there was something about Quill's absurdity that worked — something that disrupted Ronan's focus just enough.
And sure enough, Ronan's grip on the detonator faltered.
He had planned to press it immediately after his speech — but now he was just staring, dumbfounded.
"What are you doing?!" Ronan barked.
Quill grinned mid-spin. "What's it look like? I'm dancing, baby! Yeah, yeah, yeah… come and get your love…"
"You…" Ronan's face twisted. "Why are you dancing?!"
"Because," Quill said, still grooving, "if I'm gonna die, I might as well go out in style. Lighten up the mood, y'know? How about you join in? You're gonna blow us up anyway — might as well have some fun before we all go!"
Ronan's expression stayed icy, but somewhere deep inside, he hesitated.
For the briefest second, he even wondered if he should do something memorable before he died.
And then, to make things worse, Drax and Groot joined in.
Three terrible dancers, moving with no rhythm, no grace — just pure chaos.
Gamora pressed her hands to her face, mortified.
Nebula muttered, "Sister, I don't even want to kill Ronan anymore. I want to kill them."
"If we survive," Gamora said grimly, "we'll do it together."
After a few more painful twists and shuffles, Quill suddenly remembered — he still had his Walkman.
He yanked off the headphones, hit play, and let real music fill the air.
It wasn't loud, but compared to his humming, it was heavenly.
Something strange happened — some of the Xandarians who had been cowering a moment ago began to clap, then dance as well.
For a brief, surreal moment, there was no war — only music.
Ronan's brain struggled to process this.
These people were supposed to be terrified.
Why were they laughing? Why were they dancing when death was seconds away?
Even Nova Prime, watching from the war room, was stunned.
Have they all gone mad?
This wasn't how this moment was supposed to go.
Ronan had killed countless enemies before.
He couldn't even remember most of their faces, their screams, or why they had to die.
But this?
This was new.
No desperate screams. No pleas for mercy.
Just… dancing.
It unsettled him more than anything else could have.
"STOP!" Ronan bellowed.
Quill just spun and replied, "Nah! Why should I? Yo, yo, yo, check it now—"
"You—!" Ronan clenched his teeth.
And for the first time, he hesitated to press the button.
There was no fear, no tragedy here — nothing for him to savor.
What was the point of destroying them if they weren't miserable?
Just then, Lock's calm voice whispered in Quill's ear:
"Enough."
Quill struck one last ridiculous pose and froze.
Ronan actually flinched.
"You— why did you stop?"
Quill smirked. "Because, big guy… we were just stalling you."
Ronan's face darkened.
He finally pressed the button.
Click.
Every Xandarian froze.
The music stopped.
And… nothing happened.
Ronan blinked.
Pressed again.
And again.
Still nothing.
He barely had time to comprehend before a golden streak descended from the sky — Lock closing in fast.
Ronan stumbled back instinctively, suddenly less sure of himself.
"Finally!" Quill shouted, letting out a relieved breath. "Man, I was running out of moves!"
Commander Rhomann Dey's voice came through the comms:
"Mr. Lock… the bombs — have they been neutralized?"
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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