[Rocket carefully placed the improvised bomb with its digital timer display directly in front of Baby Groot, speaking with the careful precision of someone teaching a life-or-death lesson.]
["All right, listen very carefully! First, you turn on this switch here! Then you turn on this lever over here! That will start the arming sequence!"]
[He pointed methodically to the left switch, then to the activation lever on the right side, and finally to the red safety button positioned on the left side of the device.]
["Then you press this button and the timer gives you exactly five minutes to escape before detonation!"]
[He pointed directly at the red emergency button on the right side and looked at Baby Groot with deadly seriousness.]
["Now! Whatever you do, no matter what happens, don't press this button! Because it will immediately detonate the bomb without any delay! We will all die instantly!"]
["Now! I need you to repeat back to me everything I just explained!"]
["I am Groot!" Baby Groot cheerfully pointed directly to the red instant-detonation button on the right!]
[Rocket immediately began yelling in panic and frustration: "No! No!!! That button will kill everyone! Please try again and listen more carefully!"]
[Baby Groot thoughtfully put his tiny finger in his mouth and appeared to ponder the instructions for several seconds with intense concentration.]
[Not surprisingly, Baby Groot once again pointed confidently to the red instant-death button on the right.]
[Rocket grabbed his head with both hands and yelled in desperation, "No! That's exactly what you said before! How is this even possible? Which button should you press first? Point it out!"]
[Baby Groot paused for a moment with apparent deep thought, then once again pointed cheerfully to the red instant-detonation button on the right.]
["NO!!!" Rocket felt like his sanity was beginning to collapse under the pressure.]
[At this critical moment, Star-Lord's voice echoed from outside the cave, "Hey! You're making him nervous with all that yelling!"]
["Shut up! Just get me some tape! Does anyone out there have any tape? I want to put tape over the death button so he can't accidentally press it!"]
[Star-Lord was somewhat speechless at this improvised solution, but still responded helpfully: "I don't have any tape on me! Let me go ask around!"]
["Yondu, do you have... Ow! Getting shot at here! Do you have any tape?"]
["Gamora! Do you have any tape? Any kind of tape! Forget it, you're fighting!"]
["Drax! Do you have any tape? Yes! Clear tape would work perfectly! Wait, you don't have any! Then why are you still asking me if clear tape would work?!!"]
[Rocket knelt helplessly in front of the bomb, staring at Baby Groot with growing despair, listening to Star-Lord's increasingly frantic attempts to find tape amid the sounds of various explosions and energy weapons fire outside.]
[Star-Lord returned to the cave entrance and shouted to Rocket over the battle noise, "Nobody has any tape!"]
[Rocket couldn't help but turn around and demand: "Are you telling me that not a single person has tape?"]
["Did you ask Nebula?"]
[Star-Lord hadn't actually asked her, but he knew it would be pointless to interrupt her during combat, so he lied, "Yes, I asked her!"]
[Rocket couldn't help but clench his fists and glare at him with obvious suspicion, "Are you absolutely sure you asked her?"]
["When I asked Yondu...she was sitting right next to him in the cockpit!"]
["I knew you were lying to me!!!"]
[Star-Lord yelled back defensively, "You have priceless Anulax batteries and an improvised atomic bomb in your equipment bag. If anyone in this entire galaxy would think to bring duct tape, it would be you!"]
[Rocket shouted back with equal intensity: "That's exactly what I'm saying! I have to do everything around here!"]
["How much time have you already wasted arguing with me?"]
[While the two teammates were engaged in their heated argument about tape logistics, Baby Groot calmly picked up the armed time bomb and began running toward Ego's core with obvious excitement.]
[Rocket suddenly turned around and discovered with horror that both the bomb and Baby Groot had completely disappeared.]
[Baby Groot, clutching the dangerous explosive device, gleefully jumped into a natural rock slide formation with a huge smile on his face, sliding toward Ego's core structure like he was enjoying an amusement park ride.]
[Although the descent was somewhat bumpy and chaotic, he still maintained a firm grip on the time bomb throughout his joyful journey.]
[Rocket watched this development with complete hopelessness, "We're all going to die!"]
Mysterio covered his face with his hands and observed, "You two really dare to teach complicated instructions while the other dares to learn them during a crisis?"
"Such a silly and adorable little Groot!"
"Tiny head, maximum cuteness!"
"Look at him scratching his legs during the slide! He looks so completely relaxed and carefree! Hahaha!"
When the busy crowd of heroes witnessed this scene, they temporarily stopped their mission preparations and began commenting on the absurd situation.
After watching Rocket desperately ask for tape and Star-Lord actually going around asking people for it, Tony Stark felt genuinely embarrassed by the improvised nature of their plan.
"Are you serious right now, Rocket? You need duct tape at a time like this?"
Rocket spread his hands in a gesture of helpless practicality, "Well! What else do you want me to use?"
"And Quill, you guys are in the middle of a life-or-death battle! You actually went around asking people for tape like you're borrowing school supplies from classmates!"
Star-Lord shrugged his shoulders with obvious defensiveness, "Hey! He asked me to find it, so I asked around! What's wrong with that? And one more thing - Rocket genuinely believes that duct tape is the most useful tool in the entire universe!"
Tony heard this and responded, "Personally, I think it's the wrench that's most useful!"
This immediately started a heated argument between Rocket and Tony about the relative merits of different tools.
The other assembled heroes watched their passionate debate with amused smiles on their faces, finding humor even in their desperate situation.
[Yondu, who had been engaged in aerial combat with multiple Sovereign spacecraft for an extended period, was finally struck by enemy fire. His ship immediately lost primary power and began hovering helplessly in mid-air.]
[He yelled in obvious frustration: "The rear thruster assembly is completely broken again! Without that main generator, we're completely screwed!"]
[Nebula, who was positioned nearby, felt deeply unhappy about their situation, but in order to ensure their survival, she reluctantly decided she had to help Yondu overcome their technical difficulties.]
[She extended her cybernetic arm and pressed her palm mechanism, causing her arm to unfold and reveal the complex machinery and circuitry contained within her prosthetic limb.]
[Star-Lord flew back toward the besieged spacecraft at maximum speed, fell headfirst through the damaged hull opening, and rolled across the floor twice before coming to rest flat on his back.]
[At this critical moment, all the surrounding Sovereign spacecraft suddenly ceased their attack patterns and formed a perfect circle around the disabled Guardian ship.]
[High Priestess Ayesha's holographic image materialized inside their spacecraft and spoke with cold authority: "Guardians of the Galaxy! Perhaps this will provide some small comfort to you in your final moments! Your deaths will not be meaningless!"]
[Nebula methodically pulled out multiple electrical wires and began connecting them directly to the cybernetic interfaces in her prosthetic arm.]
[Yondu quickly distributed all of his remaining spherical metal weapons around the interior of their damaged spacecraft.]
["Your execution will serve as a clear warning to anyone else who might want to betray the Sovereign! No one steals from us and survives!"]
[As soon as Ayesha finished delivering her threatening speech, dozens of Sovereign warships opened fire simultaneously on Yondu's position.]
[The absolutely devastating barrage of energy weapons instantly enveloped their spacecraft in destructive firepower. Under such intensive bombardment, sparks and electrical fires soon began erupting from multiple systems throughout the ship.]
[Nebula continued connecting the power transfer wires to her cybernetic interfaces one by one with mechanical precision.]
[Yondu observed her preparations and warned, "This is going to hurt you badly!"]
[Nebula responded with characteristic disdain and determination: "Pain doesn't scare me!"]
[Yondu made a sound of grudging respect, then turned back to activate the power transfer switch and engage the activation button.]
[Massive amounts of electrical current immediately began flowing from Nebula's cybernetic body through the improvised connections. The violent energy output instantly caused her to convulse uncontrollably and scream in agony as electricity coursed through her systems.]
[The metal weapon spheres positioned around the exterior of their spacecraft received the power boost and immediately resumed full operational status. Brilliant laser beams erupted in all directions, creating a deadly light show.]
[In an instant, most of the Sovereign spacecraft that had been surrounding them were completely destroyed in the devastating counterattack.]
[One of the laser beams even passed dangerously close between Drax and Mantis on the ground, nearly injuring them through friendly fire.]
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