"We've reached Terra," a Ravager in a battered leather jacket reported from the bridge of the massive ship. "Boss, do we charge straight in?"
Yondu Udonta stopped chewing and wiped his hands before standing. Through the forward viewport, a blue planet filled the darkness, quiet and unassuming. He studied it for a long moment, then shook his head.
"No," Yondu said. "You lot stay here and hold position. I'll take a small team down. And Peter's coming with me."
A scarred Ravager nearby, his face twisted with old burns, snorted in disbelief. "Boss, it's a backwater planet that can't even leave its own system. What's there to be careful about? We hit hard, wipe out anyone who resists, grab the Cube, and get out before the other crews show up."
The Ravager was voicing what most of them were thinking.
Three days earlier, a message had exploded across the bounty networks. A mysterious client had posted a reward that made even veteran hunters lose their minds: one billion units for an object called the Space Cube. The location was clearly marked. Terra.
A billion was the top of the food chain. Even more absurd, this wasn't an assassination or a war contract. It was a simple retrieval. The target planet was listed as a low-tech civilization with minimal off-world defenses.
Compared to other bounties of the same tier, it sounded like a joke. The second-highest contract on the boards was a standing kill order on the Mad Titan, Thanos himself.
Terra, by contrast, looked like a free meal.
So every Ravager crew, mercenary band, and freelance hunter worth a ship had set course for the planet. The only reason Yondu's crew arrived early was because he'd been there decades ago. He knew where it was.
But even that advantage amounted to a few hours at best.
Yondu turned slowly and kicked the scarred Ravager square in the chest, sending him crashing to the floor.
"Idiot," Yondu snapped. "You really think a bounty like that comes with no teeth?"
He leaned down, eyes glowing faintly. "Last time I came here to pick up Peter, I did my homework. Terra sits under Asgard's protection."
The bridge went quiet.
"And here's another thing for that empty skull of yours," Yondu continued. "Ask yourself why the Nova Corps never stationed a fleet here. Same galaxy. Plenty of strategic value. Yet they stay away."
The implication hit hard.
"Asgard…" someone whispered.
Even among cosmic outlaws, the word carried weight. Asgardians lived longer than most civilizations had existed. Their individual combat strength was monstrous, their technology ancient and terrifying. Even the Kree Empire thought twice before provoking them.
Yondu straightened and scoffed. "A billion units doesn't mean it's easy. It means someone wants fools like you to bleed first."
He turned to a thinner Ravager standing near the console. "Kraglin. Go wake Peter. Tell him it's time to pay a visit home."
Minutes later, the Ravager mothership faded into invisibility. A smaller craft detached and slipped toward Terra's atmosphere, vanishing into the clouds over what humans called Missouri.
They were not alone.
Hours passed, and space around the planet began to distort again and again. Ships of every shape and origin dropped out of jump points, converging on the same destination. Mercenaries. Hunters. Killers.
On one smaller vessel, a raccoon-like creature slammed the throttle forward, weaving between asteroids with manic precision.
"Ha! Move it, move it!" Rocket cackled, dodging debris and blasting past slower ships. "A billion units, Groot! A billion! That's retirement money!"
"I am Groot," the tree-like being replied calmly from the passenger seat.
Rocket grinned wider. "Yeah, yeah, we'll buy you a forest. Just don't let anyone steal my payday."
Far from Terra, on the broken surface of Titan, a kneeling Chitauri elder pressed his head to the ground. In his hands rested a scepter pulsing with cold, alien light.
"The bounty has been released, as you commanded," the elder said. "The Ravagers and hunters are already en route."
On his throne, Thanos slowly rose. The Mad Titan turned, massive and composed, the faintest smile curling his lips.
"Good," he said. "Now we wait for Gamora."
Every move had been calculated.
Titan's destruction had taught Thanos a lesson written in ash: unchecked life consumed everything. Balance was the only mercy the universe understood. His crusades had proven effective, but too slow. He needed something absolute.
The Infinity Stones.
He already possessed the Mind Stone. Through ancient records and stolen knowledge, he had traced the others. Odin had once gathered them and forged a gauntlet capable of wielding their power, only to abandon the attempt.
The Space Stone was on Terra. So was the Time Stone, guarded by the Ancient One. The Reality Stone had vanished, last seen in Asgard's shadow.
Three Stones. One planet.
But even Thanos did not yet challenge Odin or the Ancient One directly. Instead, he chose shadows. Proxies. Chaos.
Gamora had never failed him. And while the hunters fought and died over false promises, she would move unseen.
If she succeeded, the universe would take its first irreversible step toward balance.
If she failed, he would still learn what waited for him on Terra.
Either way, the game had begun.