A few months have passed since I joined the Ravagers. Peter and I have become close friends. I refer to him as my brother and he calls me his sister. Youndu is kind of like a father figure to both of us - a fact he is quick to mention whenever he wants a favor. I had even told the two of them about my powers and my past.
Currently, we are on the way back from acquiring the necessary parts to maintain the Elector.
Beeep, Beeep, Beeep. A low-pitched beeping noise fills the cockpit, accompanied by a flashing crimson warning light.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"Don't know, don't care," Peter answered, flippantly.
"It's a warning light! How do you not know?!"
"Because it never lit up before." I rolled my eyes and checked the light.
"The fuel levels are low! You were supposed to check them before we left!"
"I forgot!"
"We'll have to stop soon to refuel. What's the nearest spacefaring world?"
"Xandar. It's only one jump away."
"Home of the Nova Corps," I note bitterly.
"What's your problem with the Nova Corps?"
"There was a similar group in my own universe that could have prevented Krypton's destruction."
"Oh. Well, we shouldn't run into them anyway."
Xandar is an oceanic world orbiting a white dwarf star. The crystal blue surface is speckled with small islands. The one we land on is shaped like a four-pointed star - the Xandarian crest. As we landed, I spotted a large crowd of visiting delegates.
"A crowded group of rich people," I remark.
"You know, if we're trying not to attract the Nova Corps, then stealing stuff isn't the best idea." I know that if Peter is the voice of reason, then something is bound to go wrong, but I unwisely decide to ignore his logic.
"Whoever steals the least interesting thing takes the blame for the paint bomb in Yondu's cabin," I suggest.
"You're on!"
We slip into the crowd unnoticed. Well, I go unnoticed. Peter, however, trips on some stairs and lets out a loud yelp.
We soon lose sight of each other. I head towards a group of officials from Lemista. Their planet is known for strange and mysterious artifacts. A rainbow cube covered in fuzzy spikes is poking out of a young woman's bag. Just as I grab it, a hand grabs my wrist.
"You're coming with me, kid." The hand - and the voice - belong to a Nova Corps officer.
"Name?" an officer asks me. He sounds bored as if he was listening to a lecture about the Treaty of Oa.
"Kata Jor-El," I mutter angrily as I inwardly curse my stupidity. I've never gotten caught, not even when I first started out about a year ago.
"Age?"
"About fourteen, I think. Maybe fifteen." I had lost track of the date several months ago when my phone ran out of battery. I think it is about 2021, but I don't know if my birthday has passed or not. The officer isn't satisfied with my answer because he rolls his eyes before continuing with his interview.
"Planet of origin?"
"C-53," I lie. C-53 is Earth, but I'm from Krypton. A destroyed world that was located in a more recently destroyed universe.
"Family?"
"My brother, Kal - I mean Peter Quill."
"We have him in custody."
I am placed in a small cell, where Peter is waiting for me.
"So, you finally got caught," he jokes.
"You've been arrested like, what, nine times?" I retort.
"Twelve. Youndu or Kraglin should show up to bail us out in the morning."
"In the morning?! I swear, when this is all over, I'm going to a planet orbiting a yellow star and never leaving."
"You say that whenever we get ourselves into a bad situation."
"Correction: whenever you get us into a bad situation."
"I didn't get you arrested." Before I could think of a comeback, the officer who arrested me enters the cell.
"My name is Rhomann Dey," he introduced. You, young lady, caught a Kree extremist who was trying to bomb our headquarters. For that, I'll let you two go, but if I catch you stealing again, you will spend a lot longer than just a few minutes in a cell."