Just then, several prison guards armed with uniquely designed guns rushed into the block. "They're attempting a breakout! Open fire!" Without hesitation, they aimed their weapons at Groot, who was the most conspicuous target in the crowd.
At over two meters tall and as a strange-looking tree-man, Groot was the natural magnet for enemy fire. Unfortunately for the guards, standard bullets stood no chance of penetrating his dense bark.
While Groot drew all the frontal fire, Valkyrie let out a fierce roar and sprinted from the flank, closing the distance with the guards in a blur. The guards gasped in shock and tried to pivot their weapons, but it was too late.
Valkyrie was on them before they could pull their triggers, sending them flying with a flurry of precise strikes. She scooped a dropped rifle off the floor and hurled it toward Rocket, shouting, "Panda, catch!"
Rocket, who had been ducking behind Groot's massive shoulders, leaned out and snagged the rifle mid-air. "Hell yeah!"
With a weapon in his hands, his confidence surged. "Come and get some, you bastards!" He shrieked, squeezing the trigger. A hail of bullets cut through the advancing guards; for a bounty hunter, Rocket's marksmanship was lethal.
The four of them fought as a seamless unit at the base of the security tower, obliterating wave after wave of guards. Their carnage acted as a massive distraction, drawing almost all the prison's security focus away from the others.
Nearby, Gamora overwhelmed the head guard and snatched the security band from his arm. "Rocket!" She screamed, hurling the band with all her might.
Rocket caught it and slapped Groot's head. "Get us to the top of that tower!" In response, Groot extended his wooden limbs and began scaling the security structure toward the control center at the summit. Valkyrie and Drax covered their ascent, firing back as they moved.
Meanwhile, Peter came sprinting through the chaos, head down and clutching the prosthetic leg. In a prison that had turned into a full-blown warzone where everyone was armed to the teeth, he looked ridiculous sprinting across the floor with nothing but a stolen fake leg.
"The block is compromised! All units authorize lethal force! Deploy everyone!" Inside the control tower, an officer was still frantically barking orders into his comms.
Suddenly, the heavy blast doors hissed open. The officer spun around to find a group of inmates standing there, looking decidedly unfriendly. Realizing the game was up, the officer immediately threw his hands in the air. Groot extended a branch, wrapped it tightly around the man, and tossed him out of the tower like a piece of garbage.
The group swarmed the controls, letting Rocket hop onto the main console. "Here's your leg," Peter panted, setting the prosthetic down next to him.
"Oh, I was just kidding about the leg. I don't actually need it; I just thought it'd be funny," Rocket said without looking up from the screen.
"What?!" Peter stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Hahahaha!" Rocket burst into high-pitched laughter. "I can't stop thinking about it! That guy's probably hopping around out there right now!"
Peter's face turned red with anger. "You couldn't have mentioned that earlier? I paid thirty thousand units to buy that off him!"
"Pfft!" Valkyrie couldn't contain herself either, covering her mouth as she giggled. This little raccoon was too much fun—she definitely had to bring him back to Jason as a pet.
Suddenly, several security drones swarmed the windows of the tower, firing relentlessly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The tower's glass was reinforced; the bullets barely left a smudge. Drax looked out nervously. "How are we getting out of here?"
Peter glared at Rocket. "This asshole supposedly has a plan. Please tell me you aren't 'just kidding' about that too."
Rocket tapped the screen with confidence. "Plan is solid. Watch this."
A moment later, a squad of heavily armed guards arrived on the floor below carrying rocket launchers. They dropped to one knee, taking aim at the tower. "Whoa, those are some big guns!" Peter said, his voice trembling.
"Those are cannons, moron," Valkyrie corrected.
Seconds later, several rockets slammed into the tower. The glass that had shrugged off bullets began to spiderweb with cracks. Even Gamora looked worried, urging Rocket, "Rocket, we're waiting for that plan!"
Rocket, frantically rewiring a panel under the console, barked back, "Give me a second!"
BOOM!
Another volley hit. The cracks widened, and the sound of shattering glass filled the air. "I remember this kind of animal now," Drax said, looking at Rocket and grinning. "When I was a boy, I used to roast them over a fire. They were tender and very juicy!"
Rocket's ears flattened in rage. "Don't distract me!"
BOOM!
After the third volley, the glass was one hit away from total failure. Everyone tensed up, fear etched on their faces. Outside, the guards reloaded. The commander roared, "Three... two... one..."
"Got it!"
In the final second of the countdown, Rocket twisted two wires together. He bared his teeth in a triumphant grin.
The countdown ended, but the expected explosion never came. Outside, the guards suddenly dropped their launchers as their entire bodies drifted off the floor. It wasn't just the guards; every inmate in the block began floating toward the ceiling.
Everyone in the tower stared in confusion. Gamora stepped up to the monitor and let out a light laugh. "He turned off the artificial gravity. Everywhere except this tower is in a state of weightlessness."
"Nice work, Rocket," Valkyrie praised sincerely.
"Told you I had a plan," Rocket smirked. He triggered a manual override, severing the connections at the top of the tower. The entire control center drifted into the air like a balloon. Rocket then hijacked the security drones, flying them to the base of the tower and slamming the thrusters to maximum.
Powered by the drones, the tower plummeted downward. Rocket piloted the makeshift vessel through the prison, crashing through barriers until they reached the outer docks. With a final command, he sealed the heavy blast doors behind them, locking the weightless guards inside.
Rocket spread his paws wide, as if looking for applause. I've broken out of twenty-two prisons, he seemed to say. The Kyln was light work.
Peter was speechless with admiration. "That... was actually a perfect plan."
The group kicked through the shattered glass and scrambled out of the tower into the docking bay, reaching the locker room where their personal belongings were stored. They stripped off their prison yellows and suited up in their own gear.
Gamora leaned in, her voice low. "Is the Orb safe?"
"Of course. Those idiots wouldn't know the value." Valkyrie strapped on her armor, clutching Dragonfang in one hand and the Orb in the other. She looked out the bay window. "Lucky break! They brought my ship in too. Otherwise, we'd be fighting our way out on foot."
Peter rushed to the side, pointing. "My Milano is there too! The orange and yellow one!"
Valkyrie shrugged and headed for her ship. "Hurry up. Everyone on my boat!"
"Actually, I'm taking the Milano. It's my—wait!" Peter stopped suddenly, frantically digging through his gear.
"Now what?" Valkyrie frowned.
"My 'Awesome Mix' tape is gone!" Peter shouted, his face frantic. "One of those guards must have swiped it. I have to go back and find it."
The room went dead silent. Everyone stared at him like he had lost his mind.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Gamora roared. "Prison reinforcements are going to be crawling all over us in seconds, and you want to go back for a piece of plastic?!"
Even Drax shook his head. "My friend, this is beyond stupid."
Peter didn't listen. He checked his weapons and adjusted his mask. "That's the last thing my mother gave me. I'm getting it back even if it kills me. You guys go! I know where the guard lives. I'll catch up!" With that, he sprinted back into the prison.
Rocket shrugged. "Fine by me. One less idiot to split the four billion units with."
"I am Groot!"
"Fine, you get a share too!"
"Let's move," Valkyrie said, watching Peter's retreating back before turning her crew toward her ship. He's a bit of a dumbass, but I don't hate a man with a sense of loyalty.
Once they were aboard, Valkyrie slid into the pilot's seat and powered up the engines. She turned back to the group.
"Before we go, I'm asking one last time: Are you all willing to come with me to Morul? If you want out, I won't force you. I can drop you off at the next transit hub."
After a moment, Drax spoke. "I will go with you. I will have Ronan's head!"
Gamora added, "I've spent years killing for Thanos. I'm tired of that life. I want something different. I hope your master is not like him."
"I am Groot!"
Rocket grinned. "Forget the talk. I'm in for the four billion units."
"Good." Valkyrie turned back and punched in the coordinates for Morul. The ship's engines flared, and they shot away from the Kyln.
The journey to Morul wasn't long; via the jump points, they could be there in half a day. Valkyrie switched the ship to autopilot and headed to the galley to find something to eat. She hadn't had a real meal in a day, and she felt like she smelled like a sewer. After eating, she planned to take a long shower and see Jason looking her best.
"You guys must be starving. Help yourselves." Valkyrie set the food on the table. Drax and Gamora sat down, while Groot nibbled on a flower growing from his own arm.
As for Rocket, he was on the floor, fiddling with parts of the ship. Valkyrie walked over and nearly spat out her food.
"Hey, hey, hey! Rocket! What the hell are you doing?!"
Rocket was literally dismantling ship components. Valkyrie wasn't worried about the cost—she was worried because they were currently traveling at FTL speeds. If the raccoon broke something vital, they'd all be stardust. Rocket just hummed a tune, ignoring her.
Angered, Valkyrie snapped, "I'll give you the ship when we land if you want it, but stop touching things now!"
Rocket looked up, offended. "Touching things? Hmph! In a fight, I might not be your match, but when it comes to flying or dissecting a starship, I'm the best there is."
Valkyrie was left speechless. She crouched down. "Fine. Just tell me what you're making. What is this?"
"Don't touch it! It's a bomb!" Rocket slapped her hand away.
"A bomb? Why the hell are you making a bomb?"
Rocket grinned wickedly. "I'm not going to Morul without insurance. If your master tries to screw us over, I'm going to blow him to the high heavens."
Valkyrie froze for a second before bursting into laughter. "You expect to take down Jason with that?"
Hearing the mockery in her voice, Rocket snapped, "My weapons are no joke. You'll see."
"Oh, how do I even explain this to you..." Valkyrie sighed, rubbing her temples. "Forget your bomb. Even if the entire Nova fleet opened fire on Jason, he wouldn't lose a single hair on his head. That's my advice: don't test him."
She walked away, leaving her warning hanging in the air. The weight of her words chilled Gamora and Drax to the bone. They knew Jason was strong—weak men didn't command respect from warriors like Valkyrie. But what she just described wasn't strength; it was something terrifying.
The two shared a silent look, losing their appetite. Gamora asked tentatively, "Valkyrie... just how powerful is your master?"
Valkyrie swallowed her food and thought for a moment. "Hmm... He could destroy the entire Nova Empire single-handedly, without needing a single tool or weapon."
Gamora and Drax leaned back, breath hitching in their throats. Drax was shocked, but then a gleam of hope appeared in his eyes. "If what you say is true... then my revenge is actually possible."
Drax's mind was only focused on vengeance, but Gamora was thinking further ahead. If Jason was truly that powerful, then what secret was hidden inside the Orb that made someone like him so desperate to have it? Was it immortality? Absolute power? And Thanos was after it too... that couldn't be a coincidence.
"I'm going to shower," Valkyrie said, grabbing her things and the Orb. "Keep an eye on the raccoon. Don't let him take the whole ship apart."
Gamora and Drax sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts.
"What? You actually believe that woman?" Rocket asked. He was dismissive of Valkyrie's hype. He didn't even bother arguing; he just kept building his weapon.
Gamora leaned her head against the wall and sighed. "I have a feeling that this trip to Morul is going to shatter everything I thought I knew about the universe."
At the jump point leading to Morul, Ronan's Dark Aster loomed in the void. His fleet was deployed in a massive blockade, surrounding the exit point. They were waiting for the fish to bite.
Nebula stood alone by the viewport, staring into the abyss of the jump point. She whispered to the empty space:
"Come on, Gamora. It's time to settle our debt."
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You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
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200 power stones.
Top 100. All time.