With Quill carrying the blaster, we hurried down to the main floor and over to the tower. I didn't wait for him and began climbing Groot, finding footholds on the twisting vines.

I glanced down, wanting to brush the hair tickling at my cheeks behind my ears but didn't in case I lost my balance, and saw Quill a few feet under me. A humming sound filled the air, a drone was close. "Quill hurry up!" I shouted at him.

"What do you think I'm…" His retort died out as a drone appeared next to him, preparing to fire and fill him with holes. My muscles tensed to jump and land on it. The drone had a loose panel that vibrated from the force of the engines. If I pulled on it hard enough the wires would be exposed, and with those wires yanked out the drone would stall and go crashing to the floor. But I saw I didn't need to do anything, there was already someone taking action.

Drax, who'd made quite the impression the previous night, had sprung up with a ferocious yell and used his weight to pull the drone down with him as he plummeted. Once Drax had ripped the drone apart with his bare hands, he called up, "You! Man who has lain with an A'askavariian!"

I snorted. Beneath me Quill rolled his eyes and muttered, "That was one time, man."

"Enough for him, apparently." I said to Quill.

"Shut up."

As we continued our climb, I felt Groot's vines strain slightly. Drax was ascending below us. I didn't trust him much, but I was thankful for the extra muscle.

I arrived on the upper platform first, Quill not too far behind me.

"Here," I offered a hand for him to take and he shoved the prosthetic foot into it. As he rolled himself over the railing, I threw it back him. When he gave me a strange look I only said, "Let's go."

"Rocket! We made it!" We had walked around to the control center's entrance and I greeted the first one I saw, who happened to be Rocket. Gamora and Groot were with him, who I gave one a warmer smile than the other.

"Great. You pick up the whack-job on your way intentionally?"

I didn't need to turn my head to know Drax was standing behind me. "He helped." I said. "He's good."

"Alright," Rocket drawled out, skeptical.

"What is the rest of your plan?" Gamora asked, her eyes were darting around the air in search of any drones that might attack.

"Just hold on." Rocket hopped up to the panel for opening the door and revealed its wires. After a few seconds of fiddling around, the door opened with a loud hiss. There was the first door which slid open painfully slow, then two more thick doors. It gave them enough time to prepare for whoever–or whatever–might be inside.

Sitting on a chair, already surrendering, was a single man. We filled in, Gamora pushing the man from his seat to get a look at the control board. A yell made me turn my head, and I looked just in time to see Groot pulling the man from the room, then walking in appearing rather satisfied himself. I raised a brow at him then focused my attention back forward.

"Spare me your foul gaze, woman." Drax said to Gamora when they met eyes.

"Why is this one here?" She asked, her tone expressing her annoyance.

"Were you not listening earlier?" I asked. "He can fight. The more muscle we have the better if we're to get that orb to your buyer." Gamora's jaw clenched at my innocent yet mocking words. But she did nothing to retaliate.

"Your reason for my being here is entirely different." Drax then addressed Quill, "You did not lie about our promise, no?"

Quill gave a big denying shake of his head, "Noooo we aren't lying about the promise. You can stay as long as you want until you kill Ronan. Oh, and here you go." Quill plopped the prosthetic leg down on the control board.

Rocket glanced at it then revealed, "Oh I was kidding about the leg, I just need these two things."

"What?!" Quill exclaimed in disbelief, while I was trying not to laugh.

Rocket although, didn't try to keep his amusement hidden. He chuckled a broad grin on his face as he spoke, "No, I thought it'd be funny. Was it funny?"

"It was funny." I said with a smile.

"It was not." Quill snapped back. "I had to transfer him 30,000 units!"

"And it was painful to watch you trying." I said to Quill. I jerked a thumb in his direction, "This guy would have never have gotten it without me. He has terrible bargaining skills."

Quill's brows furrowed and and he said accusingly to me, "You already knew. Asshole! Did you plan this with your, freaky raccoon friend?"

Anger flooded me but I calmed myself, knowing there were more important things at hand than slapping some impudent Terran who can't take a joke. So instead, I told him, "Speak ill of me or my friend one more time, and you won't be able to walk your bones will be that broken." Quill blinked, taken aback by my sudden ferocity. "And remember who's getting you out of this prison." I added on.

In the quietness of the room Rocket's low whistle reached my ears, "Now there's a girl you don't wanna piss off."

"How are we gonna leave?" Drax's abrupt question brought everyone back to the matter at hand.

"Be careful, a drone is coming." I warned after hearing a humming sound in the air. I received a few strange looks, but then one appeared and began shooting at us. Thankfully the glass was bulletproof. They didn't know how I'd done it but they'd listen to me for the next time.

"As to Drax's question," Quill started, "supposedly he's got a plan. Right? Or is that another thing you made up?!"

"Hey!" I snapped at Quill, only to lower my voice to a gentler tone. "Be calm."

Quill snorted, "That's great advice coming from you."

"I have a plan! I have a plan!" Rocket insisted as he walked back and forth along the control board, pressing buttons and whatnot.

"Cease your yammering, and relieve us from this irksome confinement." Drax said.

"Yeah I'll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one." Quill commented. I rolled my eyes at him.

Drax looked over at Quill, offended. "Do not ever call me a thesaurus."

Trying to ease things up, Quill explained, "It's just a metaphor, dude."

"His people are completely literal." Rocket told him. "Metaphors are gonna go over his head."

"Nothing goes over my head." Drax said, going on to say, "My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it."

Gamora spoke up, sounding truly done with everyone, "I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy."

Heavy footsteps were approaching below. I inched closer to the window to see a new group of guards, carrying some rather large guns. "Guys, we need to hurry this up." I said and pointed to below.

Seeing them take aim, I put one hand on a wall to keep my balance for when the force of the guns came rocking the tower. The first one came, startling me. But it didn't do as much damage as I'd originally thought. The glass did crack though, setting panic into most of us.

"Rodent we are ready for your plan." Gamora said impatiently.

"Hold on!" Rocket roared. Another gun shot at the glass.

"I recognize this animal. We'd roast them over a flame pit as children. Their flesh was quite delicious." Drax felt the need to share.

I glared at him. "Not helping."

I winced as a another gun blasted the glass, the explosion a burst of bright flames that died out quickly. What was left was damaged glass, it's cracks spreading outwards from the origin like spiderwebs.

All fire on my command!

I stilled myself, making sure I'd heard right. Below the firing squad–not just one, but all–were reading to deliver a final below. I hurried towards Rocket, kneeling down so I could say in a voice only he and I would hear, "All of them are going to fire. You got this right?"

Without looking at me Rocket replied jokingly, "Don't start doubting me now." As if he could feel my stare, meaning he didn't give me a good enough answer, Rocket sighed and said, "Yeah, I got this. Do me a favor and go tell those idiots to keep their marbles in check." I grinned, standing back up to my full height.

I didn't have to snap at anyone although. The tension was high and no one spoke. Rocket was working faster than ever in the three second countdown. He plugged two cords together, and a droning sound filled the air, the blast never came.

Slowly, prisoners and guards alike drifted up from the floor. Their expressions a mixture of horror and confusement. Gamora leaned forward, watching the sight with a hint of amusement in her eyes. "He turned off the artificial gravity everywhere but in here." Rocket wasn't done yet. With some more adjustments, the tower they were in suddenly groaned. It jolted once before the room they were in detached itself from the tower. We were just floating until drones began pushing us from beneath.

Rocket was smug as he said, "I told you I had a plan." I smiled at that.

We now were–attempting–to navigate through the hallways. They were definitely not made for a control room being pushed by drones in a zero-gravity situation. We bumped into one wall, then bounced off another, soon we started to ricochet around. Finally, we hit a wall that caused us to come to an abrupt stop. Rocket closed the doors to the room we'd slid into behind us, no doubt securing our escape.

"That was a pretty good plan." Quill admitted. The others nodded in agreement.

—

We had made our way out of the wreckage that was once the control room. Quill was over by a window, searching for something.

"Yeah! There it is!" He exclaimed. "Get my ship. It's the Milano, the orange and blue one over in the corner." Milano? What kind of name was that?

"They crumpled my pants up into a ball. That's rude! They folded yours!" Rocket complained to Drax.

"How are we getting to the ship?" I asked. Rocket looked like he was about to answer, but I zoned him out focusing on Quill and Gamora's words instead.

"Get them to the ship. I will be right back."

"How are you gonna possibly…"

"Just keep the Milano close by. Go!"

Gamora stalked over. "Let's go. Quill will meet us at the ship, somehow."

"What?" Rocket said in confusion, "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Either to double-cross us or he really does have to retrieve something." I spoke up. A flicker of confusion passed over Gamora's face and she patted the satchel, which was supposed to be holding the orb.

Gamora's features contorted in rage and she shouted, "That bastard! I will kill him!"

"What is it?" Drax questioned.

"Quill took the orb with him." I explained. "But there's nothing we can do, let's go to the Milano and wait."

"We could find him before he takes an escape pod and then we have to track him down again." Rocket suggested.

"No. The ship." Gamora didn't look like she was going to budge, but after a heavy sigh she headed to the hangar door. Everyone followed.

Rocket paused to ask me a question, "Why are you so set that that idiot won't betray us?"

I already knew the answer so I told him right away. "He's given me no reason to trust him. But if he returns with the orb, I'll consider not threatening to kill him everytime he pisses me off."

And so, our group followed Quill's instructions where we found the Milano.