The Kylosian walked with confidence through the city, purposefully striding past the street vendors. Drax hadn't forgotten the way to the building, and soon he was standing in front of it once more.

He stood for a long while, merely looking at it. He knew that his family was inside, but he wasn't certain how to get there without just barging in. For some reason, he felt that he couldn't do that while wearing Gamora's cloak. With it on, he felt … different.

Covert.

More like Gamora.

"Sir, may I help you?" The voice startled him, and Drax spun around, reaching for his knives only to stop himself just in time. "Sir?"

Drax sighed inwardly. He wanted to throw the tall yellow alien at a wall and demand that he be led to his team.

His family.

The cloak stopped him though. Drax had to be subtle. He would try Quill's way. "I … am looking for where they sell the slaves."

"Sir!" The alien's black eyes widened. "You shouldn't ask about that so openly!"

Drax knew that he was no good at being subtle, but he was determined to continue trying, lowering his voice to answer. "That is where I mean to go. I will desist in asking when I get there."

The alien made a panicked shushing sound, pulling Drax to the side. "Someone must have given you bad directions Mr. …" The alien paused, sizing him up. A moment later the yellow man prodded. "What was your name again?"

Drax froze. Gamora's cape made him feel invisible, but with this man here, questioning him, he knew that he had to answer, and the simple answer–the Drax answer–was not the appropriate one for his situation.

His clothes suddenly felt too tight, and the hood of Gamora's cloak seemed to be affecting his ability to breathe normally (illogical). He could feel the weight of his knives in his belt, along with Rocket's gadget and Quill's yo-yo.

Star-Lord … Drax wished fervently that the human were there. He would know what lie to tell.

"Please do not be alarmed …" Drax found the yo-yo with his hand, running his fingers over the smooth surface as he searched his mind for a name. "I am … Thanos … a." He mentally cursed. It was an obvious lie. "Thanosa."

"What?" The alien recoiled, and Drax knew he was in trouble. Yet he could not stop now. He would finish what he had started. What would he say to a man if that were his real name?

"My name is an unfortunate coincidence, yes."

"I- oh! Er, …" The alien stuttered, obviously embarrassed. "I am quite pleased to meet you, of course. I am Jaifo, one of the many employees here at the …" The yellow man glanced left and right, making certain that no one was listening. "Here at the RSR."

Drax didn't think he sounded pleased, but he was too excited that his lie had been believed to do much more than nod.

"If you'll come with me, I'll take you straight inside. I'm sorry you got such bad directions, really, you've missed the whole auction. I'm late myself, and I'm sure they've already started the staff meeting!"

"The auction?" Drax asked as Jaifo led him towards the building.

"Yes, the special one that was called today! It's what you were here for, wasn't it?"

"It was. Yes." The Kylosian suddenly understood what Jaifo thought of him. "I am here to buy a slave." Drax could hardly believe that those words had rolled so easily off of his tongue when they were such a clear falsehood, yet the alien before him didn't seem to notice.

They walked into the building, passing a myriad of people, all on their own business. Jaifo took him straight to the elevator in the back wall.

"Yes, well, I believe you're in luck! I don't think all of the newer batch were bought, or at least, that's what I heard … So since you missed the auction by so little time, I'll let you buy between shows." The man looked at him intently. "Just this once, so you can't tell anyone, okay?"

"Thank you." Drax said. He didn't mean it, but it seemed appropriate. Jaifo merely smiled as they entered the elevator, the doors closing behind them. The yellow alien then quickly scanned his hand and pressed the button that appeared afterwards. Drax thought that he was quite a foolish employee if he was allowing a complete stranger in like this.

"Of course! The customer is always right!"

Drax blinked. "What if they are wrong?"

"Oh, it's just a saying. Our boss is a marketing genius, he's the one who came up with it." The man chuckled, misinterpreting Drax's honest question to be humor.

Drax was used to it, and so merely nodded as the doors opened once again.

"Ah, here we are, Mr.- er … Thanosa, welcome to the greatest selection of specimens in the Galaxy!" Jaifo spread his arms as they stepped out of the elevator, revealing a long hall in front of them. "You are free to browse through them, and take your time. Just remember, if you want to touch them, you have to find an employee. If you try to touch them yourself, you'll immediately set off the alarm and be attacked by the 127 security guards of the facility."

Ah. That was why the alien was so confident about letting Drax roam around.

"I understand." Was all the Destroyer said, silently thinking to himself that he could probably take on that many.

"Excellent! Now, I'm late for a meeting, so I'm sorry to leave you, but if I may be excused- …"

"I will not stop you." Drax nodded, and Jaifo ran off, the pattering of his feet echoing in the seemingly empty metal hall.

The Kylosian looked left and right, and he could see another man standing not too far down the hall with a blaster in his hand. He must have been one of the security guards. "You! I am in need of assistance."

"You heard what the Big J said." The light-pink skinned guard shrugged. "You're free to look at your options now."

"Who is the big J?" Drax paused. "And I want to buy very specific slaves."

"Jaifo is the boss's son. 'S why we call 'im Big J. What he says? Goes. It's why we're lettin' you in here between auctions." The guard seemed supremely bored. "Now you say you wan' a specific bunch?"

"I want to buy the Guardians of the Galaxy." Drax said immediately, and the alien before him snorted.

"Little late for that. You missed the whole auction." His eyes widened behind his visor, then. "Ah, that must be why Big J letcha in. You missed all the action."

"They have all been sold?" Drax felt panic rising inside of him, and under his cloak, his fingers twitched towards his knives.

"All of 'em 'cept that Star-guy. Nobody wanted him."

"Star-Lord?" The Destroyer leaned forward. "Take me to him."

"Well …" The guard leisurely checked his watch. "He should be done being punished by now. Follow me."

"Punished?" Drax followed, not liking where the conversation seemed to be headed. He would destroy those who hurt his family. He could see many different aliens behind glass as he walked down the hall, reminding him of the collector. They all wore collars, and refused to meet his eyes.

"Yeah. He didn't wanna follow orders. Slaves haf'ta follow orders, an' if not, they're punished." The alien's step was brisk as he turned a corner. "The rest o' them so-called Guardians were gonna be punished too, if they weren't bought."

Drax could feel the tension in his muscles increasing, and his brow furrowed as he continued to walk behind the guard. "How are these … slaves … punished?"

"Depends." The alien shrugged as they neared the end of their current hallway, hand stretching forward to open the large metal door in the wall. "Sometimes shock, sometimes lashes, sometimes … well. There are lots of ways."

The Kylosian's entire chest began to burn with fury, and he thought of several ways in which he could destroy the man before him.

"This is the room where the slaves are punished. Star-Man should still be here."

The guard opened the door smoothly, and Drax walked forward immediately. He was ready to rescue Star-Lord, but there was a fear rooted deeply in his chest at what he might see.

He could only hope that his leader wasn't completely incapacitated. Quill was normally quite a bit stronger than he appeared.

Drax also knew that the human would do anything to help their lost team-members.

They were family, after all.