"Dear Peter,

Of course, I've heard about how you were sent on a mission. I have a sense about these things. Since you are my son, I must ask you to take caution. Sometimes, quests such as these aren't always as simple as you think. You'll never know when you might run into an obstacle in your road."

"Welcome to the Mistral slums!" Quill said expressing his arms out to the gloomy streets. It was slightly crowded, but Quill seemed happy and proud enough to show it to Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot.

"This place is a pigsty." Gamora said.

"I see no swine." Drax said.

"It's an expression, Mr. Literal." Rocket hissed. "Anyway, where's this Lil Miss lady?"

"The Spider hideout should be around this corner." Quill said leading them down the road. "We'll just ask Lil Miss about Merlot, find him, tell Lionheart. Then boom, we're free."

"Can you even trust her?" Gamora asked.

"To an extent, but she likes me." Quill said as he stopped in front of a bar door. "The Spiders are quite an unpredictable group of people…" He entered with the others. "But trust me. They all love me."

As soon as they entered, several eyes glared in their direction. Gamora could already tell they weren't approving looks they were giving.

"Yeah. I can already feel the love." Gamora said.

"Peter Quill." Said a woman in the center. She was a large, blonde woman with a fan in her hand. "It's been a while."

"Lil Miss." Peter greeted. "You haven't aged a day."

"Oh, you're quite a flatterer." Lil Miss said approaching her. "By the way. I have a couple of gifts for you. This one is from Melanie."

SMACK!

Peter widened his eyes as he felt the woman's hand strike him across his left cheek. The rest of the gang watched with surprise and confusion. Gamora glanced at the boss' direction and saw that she gave a nod to one of her followers who left the room after.

"Not sure if I deserved that." Quill said turning back to Lil Miss.

"And this is from Miltia." Lil Miss said before giving Quill a strong backhand slap across his right cheek.

"I may have deserved that one." Quill admitted.

"Well, now that I'm done playing messenger," Lil Miss said sitting in her chair, "What can I do for you?"

"Right." Quill said. "Well… We're on the run."

"Aren't we all?"

"I'm not sure if you speak for everyone, ma'am." Drax said.

Lil Miss took a moment to examine everyone. Her eyes widened and she chuckled in amusement. "I don't believe it. Peter, are you actually associated with Drax the Destroyer? I gotta admit, I got new levels of respect for you. Not only that, but you're also with Gamora Black? That's…"

Gamora silenced her by taking out a dagger and stabbing the table with it. "It's just Gamora."

"Whoa, easy there, stabby." Quill said. "Remember, we're here to get our names cleared."

"Is that so?" Lil Miss asked.

Gamora still gave a suspicious look and removed her dagger. Quill stepped up again. "Right. So, long story short, we kinda made a deal to bring in somebody in exchange for our freedom. We're looking for a guy named Merlot. We heard you were in contact with him, so we thought of coming up to ask you about that."

Lil Miss thought for a minute. "Well, what do I get in return?"

"Pardon?" Quill asked.

"You didn't really think I'd just give away such valuable information like that so easily, did you? The good doctor is paying me handsomely. You'll have to give me something in exchange."

Groot stepped in closer and held out his hand. From his palm, a beautiful, yellow flower grew, which he broke off and handed to the Spider leader.

"Well, you're a sweet… tree thing."

"I am Groot."

"And I am flattered," Lil Miss said, "But I'm afraid this won't do. After all, you can't really buy food with dainty flowers, can you? Especially since Quill here still owes me for quite a few favors."

"Wait, what?" Gamora asked glaring at Quill with the others.

"You're in debt and you still thought of asking her?" Rocket asked.

Quill chuckled. "Just one sec, guys." He leaned in closer to the Spider leader. "Look, Lil Miss, help me out here and I promise, I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"You said that the last three times you asked for a favor."

"Yeah, but I swear, I'm good for it. Look, I just got ahold of something that's going to make the Branwen Tribe much richer in the near future. That means I get a bigger pay. And that means you'll get your payment much faster."

Lil Miss Malachite thought for a second once more before smiling. "I knew I liked you, Peter. All right then." She turned to her nearest follower. "Grace, pick up the product and bring it here."

"Thanks." Quill said. "Oh, and hey, Grace."

Grace only responded by punching Peter Quill across the face.

"And I supposed you didn't deserve that either." Gamora said.

"No, that one, I definitely deserved."

"Well, that turned out pretty good." Rocket said.

"Too good, if you ask me." Gamora said. "Quill, I don't trust this. Something isn't right."

"Why do you gotta be such a negative Nancy?" Quill asked.

"I believe she said her name is Gamora." Drax said. "Lil Miss Malachite also called her Gamora Black, but…"

"Do not call me that again! It's just Gamora!"

"The point is, you're worrying over nothing." Quill said.

"Here we are, ma'am." Grace said carrying a metal crate. She placed it on Lil Miss' table.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"Dr. Merlot only contacted me once and it with a means in which I can't call him back." Lil Miss said. "He hired me to deliver him machine parts. We get the parts, have one of our people bring this to his hideout, and he pays us by the bit when we arrive."

"Machine parts?" Gamora asked. "Sounds like he's building something. But what?"

"He never told me." Lil Miss said. "But the money was good, so how could I say no? If you're looking for Dr. Merlot, you're just in time, because this is the last piece he asked for." She opened up the crate allowing the gang to look inside.

Rocket dropped his jaw and gasped seeing a glass cylinder inside. And inside the glass, there appeared to be a yellow crystal shard that was sparkling electricity at the top and bottom of the container.

"You gotta be kidding me." Rocket gasped. "A nitro crystal power cell? What's the guy making, a super bomb?"

"You know what this thing is, furry beast?" Drax asked.

"Yeah, I know! I'm quite an engineer myself, and this thing is super rare! Nitro crystals are the results of humies experimenting on lightning dust to try and make a much bigger power source. There were only a handful of successes, but there were so many failures and lab accidents, the use and creation of nitro crystal power cells have been illegal. You can't even find this stuff on the black market anymore."

"And that's why Dr. Merlot is paying big for this." Lil Miss said.

"I got it." Quill said. "So we'll go and see Merlot saying that you sent us to deliver this power cell to him."

"Don't forget, genius," Gamora said, "We still have to find out where Merlot is."

"Oh, that's no issue." Lil Miss Malachite said. "Before his alleged demise, he built Merlot Industries at the city on Mountain Glenn. He's still stationed there right now."

"Perfect." Quill exclaimed. He shut the crate and lifted it up from the table's surface. "Well, Lil Miss, it was fun. Again, sorry about everything I did to your daughters. Tell them I'm always thinking about them and…"

"Leaving so soon?" Lil Miss asked. "Why, Peter, it's not like you to not give us at least one performance."

"Oh, right." Peter said. He passed the crate over to Drax. "Sorry, guys. Just gotta perform one song, and then, we're gone."

"You're stopping to sing?" Rocket asked.

"Quill, this doesn't feel right." Gamora said. "This feels like a set-up."

"It's just one song. What harm can it do?" Quill jumped up to the bar table and turned to Lil Miss Malachite. "Any requests?"

"Just make it last."

"You got it." Quill said. He pulled out his Walkman and unplugged the earplugs before turning up the volume. The music he chose had a bit of a cheerful, but not too cheerful beat which he danced and sang along to.

"Welcome to your life

There's no turning back

Even while we sleep

We will find you

Acting on your best behavior

Turn your back on Mother Nature

Everybody wants to rule the world"

While Peter Quill kept singing, Gamora shifted her eyes around suspiciously. Most of the patrons only watched the show, but she had a bad feeling. So when no one else watched, she took a few steps toward the door. Once she returned outside, she looked and widened her eyes toward the far end of the road. She saw one of the Spiders chatting with a team of Atlas military officers while pointing at the tavern.

Seeing the situation, Gamora darted back into the bar to warn her gang. She was caught off guard for a second seeing Quill's dancing intensifying watching him do the worm.

"SAY THAT WE'VE ALMOST MADE IT

SO SAD THEY HAD TO FADE IT

EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD"

"PETER!" Gamora yelled as she ran to the bar table. She grabbed his leg and pulled him down letting him land on his butt.

"OW! Gamora, I was in the zone!"

"You'll be in jail if you stay here!" Gamora yelled out. "Lil Miss has been stalling us! She's bringing Atlas guards here!"

"What?" Quill asked. "That doesn't make any sense. What would Atlas military be doing so far from Argus?"

"They're probably looking for the escaped convicts." Lil Miss said as she pulled out a handheld rifle pointing it at Star-Lord.

"Seriously, Lil Miss?" Quill asked. "Is this still about with the twins?"

"Partially, but there's another reason." Lil Miss answered. "You see, that Cordovin woman put out a handsome bounty for the five criminals who escaped her custody."

"That midget has a bounty on us?" Rocket asked.

"Sorry, Peter." Lil Miss apologized, "I really do like you, and I do believe you can pay me back faster with that deal you offered, but you can pay me back even faster by letting me turn you in."

"Ain't gonna happen, spider lady." Quill replied. He quickly put his helmet on and fired the jets on his boots to fly up into the air.

Lil Miss tried to shoot Star-Lord down, but she missed. Before she could try again, Groot's branches grabbed onto the back of her collar. He hoisted her up before tossing her aside. The rest of the Spiders picked up their weapons and attacked.

Rocket quickly pulled out his laser cannon and fired at the bandits. "GET THAT POWER CELL OUT OF HERE! IF IT GETS DAMAGED, IT COULD LEVEL THIS ENTIRE CITY!"

"Understood." Drax called out before turning to leave. A bandit landing in front of him, but Drax quickly knocked him out by using the crate he held to bludgeon him.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" Rocket yelled out. "Groot, get that bomb away from the idiot before he blows us all to kingdom come!"

"I am Groot!"

Groot reached out and wrapped his branches around the box, but Drax didn't want to give it up that easily.

"Hold it, tree man! This is my responsibility now!"

"I am Groot!"

Both Drax and Groot struggled and pulled to hold onto the crate with the power cell inside. Rocket watched with worry that the wrong jostle could make it explode.

"It's mine!" Drax argued.

"I am Groot!"

"Mine!"

"I am Groot!"

"Mine!"

"I am…"

"SHUT UP!" Rocket yelled out. "THIS THING IS GOING TO KILL US UNLESS SOMEONE GIVES IT AWAY RIGHT NOW!"

Both Drax and Groot looked at each other thinking about the raccoon's words.

"The beast is right." Drax said. "Maybe I am a bit irresponsible with something like this. Here, you take it." He pushed it over to Groot, but was surprised when Groot pushed it back.

"I am Groot."

"No, I insist. Take it back."

"I am Groot."

"Take it back!"

"I am Groot!"

What turned into a pulling contest quickly became a battle for pushing the box toward each other. Rocket pressed both of his wrists to the sides of his head groaning.

"We're all gonna die."

Meanwhile, Gamora whipped out her sword and used it to fight off against any bandit unfortunate enough to face her. One after another, she either slashed her sword at them or knocked them away with a hard-enough kick. Soon enough, there was one last bandit left. She was about to take him on, but Star-Lord, who was still flying, tackled him and sent him crashing right to the wall. Star-Lord brushed off the crash and removed his helmet.

"I had that." Gamora said.

"Well, I wanted to take out someone too." Quill said. "Anyway, let's just get out of here before those Atlas guys show up."

"You take it!"

"I am Groot!"

"You take it!"

"I am Groot!"

"Better idea, you idiots: I'll take it!" Gamora yelled out before snatching the crate from Drax's hands and Groot's branches.

"Works for me!" Rocket yelled out. He and the rest of the gang ran out of the bar and escaped the street the very second before the Atlas guards arrived.

"So where to now?" Drax asked.

"Where else?" Star-Lord asked. "We're going to Mountain Glenn."

What the gang didn't know was that at a far-off cliffside, a figure was watching them through a pair of high-powered binoculars. She removed the binoculars revealing herself to be a hooded woman with metal parts covering certain parts of her unusually blue skin. She glared down at them.

"I finally found you, Gamora."

Author's Note: Glad to be working on this. Glad to be back. Any and all comments are welcome.