Disclaimer- I don't own the Marvel universe or anyone in it. (No matter how much I think about it.)

Nebula didn't have a heart. She was a robot, and robots don't have hearts. They don't have empathy, they don't have compassion, and they certainly don't fall in love. The strongest emotion she felt was hatred- hatred for Gamora, hatred for Thanos, hatred for that misfit band of idiots that called themselves heroes. Nebula had promised herself- years ago, when her reflection wasn't one of skin and blood, but rather metal and steel- that she would never fall victim to feelings of affection.

Especially not love.

To love was to be weak, to have loyalty, to be sworn to someone. To love meant to be betrayed, and to be at someone else's will. Nebula would never, ever find herself in that position again. She would not allow it. She would not allow herself to be a puppet, to be controlled by the hands that twist and bend strings until they snap, until the heart bleeds out, until there is nothing left but pain.

So she cut all strings. She took a ship, and she flew away from the battle that held so much danger for her. She took herself away from the inevitable pain of loss- on either side, there was no victory. No victory for Ronan, no victory for Gamora. She flew away from the unrequited affection, the danger of attachment, from any hope or hurt she might of felt. She flew away, and she cried. She did this, not outwardly, but as she locked up anything she had ever felt. Any care, any camaraderie, any trust, hope, love- she locked it up, and pressurized it, pushing on it so hard that there was nothing left to be felt. The dirty grime of emotion was replaced with the solid strength of apathy, of numbness, of detached loathing.

The sidelong glances, the smirks, the occasional nod of approval was all forgotten. Nebula forgot about the times that they fought together, the times that they touched hands, the times that they felt something akin to affection. She did not love anyone, and she would never love him. She could never love a man- especially if that man would hand her to Thanos the second she turned her head.

No. Instead, she would kill that man. She left him alone to his fate, to the dark cloud of finality that hung in the air, rotting and stinking like a corpse in the sun. He could never wield the power of the Infinity Stone as completely as he was convinced he could. It would destroy him, and he would die. So she abandoned him to that, because it was an ending he deserved. He deserved the dark cloud, the ashes and inferno, because he was a harbinger of death. He was only as good as the end he suffered, and she could see it coming.

The only person she was loyal to was herself. Nebula loved none, but she was faithful to one. And that one- she would live forever. She would stand alone.

Nebula didn't have a heart. Nebula didn't need a heart. Nebula only needed revenge, and that was exactly what she would deliver.

A/N: I don't claim to have any idea about what Nebula is doing in the sequel. This is all pure imagination, utter speculation. But it seems rather plausible, yeah? It is totally within her character to go back to Thanos, and work from the inside. She seems the type to get her revenge through betrayal. I'm not defending her, because she is a horrible person, but she has been through horrible, awful things. (For example, being forced to amputate her own arm.)

I also don't claim to see any physical or emotional attachment between her and Ronan. It's just that I love Lee Pace so much, and if he plays a character, I am automatically a fan. So I had to write something about him. Plus, Nebula is a pretty complex character, once you look more into her. Not complex so much as...hardened. She's been through so much trauma that she's permanently damaged, and I feel a little bit of empathy for her. :(