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The little girl tilted her head, bent down, and picked up the silver sphere as naturally as if it had fallen out of her pocket. She even gave it a little toss, testing its weight, treating it like an ordinary toy ball.
"Hey! Little sister!" Quill reacted first, plastering on the friendliest smile he'd ever managed in his entire life, both hands raised to show he meant no harm. "That thing is really dangerous. Put it down slowly and back away, okay? We don't want to hurt you."
Gamora's brow was already furrowed. "He's right. That is not a toy. Set it down. Slowly."
Her gaze was sharp, locked onto the sphere in Hermione's hand.
"I am Groot." Groot shook his head gravely, apparently agreeing.
Rocket scratched his ear with one claw, looking thoroughly impatient.
"What the hell? Where did this brat come from? Hey! Put that thing down — don't hold up our fortune-making..." He caught himself. "Our cosmic peace-keeping. Whatever."
None of them wanted to hurt the girl. That much was clear.
Hermione just blinked. A flicker of confusion crossed her face, as if she hadn't understood a single word they'd said.
Then, under four pairs of utterly dumbfounded eyes, she did not put The Orb down. She grabbed it, turned on her heel, and ran.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I am Groot?!"
All four of them stood frozen.
What in the absolute —
"Stop right there!"
"Don't run!"
"Grab her!"
The shock lasted maybe two seconds. Then they bolted after her.
That was when things got strange.
The little girl was small, borderline scrawny. She ran like she'd been launched out of a cannon.
The four of them threw everything they had into the chase and still couldn't close the gap. That tiny figure bobbed ahead of them, always visible, always just out of reach.
She didn't even look fast. She was just absurdly, inexplicably fast.
Several city blocks later, Quill was wheezing like a dying engine. Even Gamora had sweat beading on her forehead, her breathing ragged.
Hermione stopped.
She was tossing The Orb up and catching it one-handed like an apple, her face perfectly fresh, wearing the faint smile of someone who'd been on a pleasant stroll.
"Big brother, big sister, little kitty, little tree person," she said brightly, her voice clear and just a little too innocent, "how are you tired already? That was barely anything. Your stamina's not great, is it."
Quill: "..."
Gamora: "..."
Rocket: "I'm a raccoon! Not a cat!"
Groot: "I am Groot..." (This came out sounding very tired.)
The four of them stared at her completely unbothered expression, and the same thought rose in all their minds simultaneously:
Where did this freak kid come from? Is she some kind of Nova Empire athlete? This is insane.
Gamora was more than alarmed. She was watching Hermione toss The Orb around like a stress ball, and her voice cracked with urgency.
"Stop throwing it! Stop right now! That thing explodes!"
Rocket and Groot didn't know what was inside. But Gamora knew exactly what was inside, and one wrong move would turn all of them into a fine mist.
"It explodes?" Hermione tilted her head. She seemed to find that genuinely interesting.
Then, under Gamora's horrified stare, her small hands closed around the metal sphere and gave it a careful twist.
CLICK!
The Orb came open.
There was no purple energy storm. No catastrophic release of cosmic power.
Nestled inside the sphere, perfectly still and quiet, was a doll in a little dress.
Hermione reached in and lifted it out. She held it up in front of her face, examined it for a moment, and gave a satisfied nod. "This is pretty cute. I'm keeping it."
Rocket and Groot looked at each other.
Completely, utterly speechless.
All of that. For a doll. That doll.
What brand could possibly be worth this much? Enough to have two names on the galaxy's most-wanted lists brawling in the middle of the street?
Gamora slowly turned her head. Her stare was ice-cold and it was aimed directly at Quill.
Quill felt his skin prickle. He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed weakly. "Uh... surprise. Total surprise."
He'd planned for this, had someone make a replica, kept the real one hidden somewhere safe. He had not planned for some reckless little girl to rip it open in front of everyone.
Then came the sound of boots, fast, and a lot of them.
"Nobody move! Nova Corps!"
"You! Ahead! Drop your weapons!"
A squad of Nova Corps soldiers came pouring around the corner, clustered around a blue-skinned figure in Ravager gear with a toothpick hanging from the corner of his mouth. He moved like he owned the street.
Yondu.
Lately, thanks to Hermione, Yondu and his crew had ended up with a surprisingly legitimate line of work, assisting the Nova Corps in keeping order on Xandar. Overnight, interstellar pirates had become something resembling official contractors.
Strangely, it worked.
Half the criminals out there had no fear of uniformed Nova soldiers. But Yondu's crew? Those vicious, scowling, kill-you-for-fun Ravagers? Interstellar crime on Xandar had gotten considerably quieter. Even General Romann had expressed his astonishment at the results.
"Who in the hell wants to die today?!" Yondu strode forward, voice like gravel. "Causing trouble in my district — in Yon... in Mor's district?!"
His eyes swept the scene. He was primed to put the fear of the universe into whoever these idiots were.
Then his gaze landed on Quill's face.
"..."
The words died in his throat.
Quill froze too.
He looked at Yondu. He looked at the Nova Corps soldiers behind him, moving in sync, coordinated, clearly used to working together. Not a first-time thing.
Quill's brain just... stopped.
A pardon, okay. He could file that under "Lady Witch has terrifying amounts of pull" and move on.
But this? This looked like Yondu had gone legitimate. Like he had an actual badge. Like he was showing up to crime scenes with Nova Corps backup.
"Boss?"
One of the Nova soldiers, noticing Yondu had gone completely silent, looked over uncertainly.
Yondu snapped out of it. His hand shot up, stopping the soldiers who were already moving in. "Hold on. Nobody touches anyone yet."
The soldiers stopped.
They actually stopped. Standing in place, waiting on Yondu's word.
Quill's eyes went even wider.
Fine, Yondu joining the authorities. Weird, but okay. But since when did regular Nova Corps troops take orders from an interstellar pirate?! Everything was backwards. The universe had completely lost its mind. He had never, in all his years drifting through the galaxy, witnessed anything like this.
Yondu didn't spare Quill's expression a second glance. His eyes had already moved past the whole group, past the chaos, landing on the small girl standing apart from it all, holding a doll, looking perfectly innocent.
The next second, under the stunned stares of everyone present, the man who had just arrived radiating enough menace to make criminals reconsider their career choices moved with complete, unhurried fluidity. One knee hit the ground. His right hand came up to rest over his heart. His head bowed.
"Lady Witch."
➤ Next: Do You Know Ego?
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