Rhea groaned as she felt Peter shift having decided to use his stomach as a pillow, not that he had complained, especially with a few dark looks she was able to clear out a whole cell for the four of them. Rocket was currently curled up on Groot who was sitting against a wall which his roots were digging into.
"Stop moving." Rhea complained, trying to stay asleep.
"Hey, they're taking that green chick." Peter said waking her up, shaking her shoulder.
"Gamora? So?" Rhea yawned as she set up.
"I think they're going to kill her." Peter said standing up.
"Again I ask, so?" Rhea rolled her eyes.
"You just want to let them kill her?" Peter looked back as she eyed him.
"And you want to save her?" Rhea looked to him.
"Well we can't just let her die." Quill replied as Rhea let out an annoyed sigh. She could feel her upbringing rearing its ugly head and reluctantly gave into it. She could practically see her boy scout of an uncle admonishing her for not acting right away.
"Fine, let's go play hero, but I still don't like her." Rhea grumbled standing up with Peter and following to where he'd seen Gamora taken, Rocket waking up at the sound of Rhea's voice and following them wanting to keep his friend and his money ticket in sight.
"So what makes you dislike Gamora so much? I mean you were willing to attack that guard for tazing me." Peter said quietly. "I know you didn't do it just because of my dashing good looks."
"Who said I didn't do it because you looked good? If you were butt ugly I might have just let them fry your butt." Rhea joked with a small smile, but then turned serious. "Her adoptive father and master is Ronan's master Thanos who captured, tortured, and brainwashed my father into attacking my mother and the rest of my family." Rhea replied with a dark look. "He very nearly killed them all."
"Oh." Peter said wide eyed.
"Yeah, oh." Rhea echoed as they came up on where Gamora was being held.
"Gamora consider this a death sentence for your crimes against the Galaxy." An inmate sneered as he shoved her against a pillar shiv pressed to her throat.
"You dare?" The imposing hulk known as Drax walked up to them causing the inmates to flinch back. "You know who I am yes?"
"You're Drax, the destroyer." The lead inmate cowered.
"And you know why they call me this." Drax said as Rocket caught up with Rhea and Peter.
"You slayed dozens of Ronan's minions." The inmate replied.
"Ronan murdered by wife, Ovette, and my daughter Cameria. He slaughtered them where they stood AND HE LAUGHED!" Drax roared glaring at the inmates. "Her life is not yours to take. He killed my family, I shall kill one of his in return."
"Of course Drax, here, I…" The inmate handed him his shiv then Gamora attacked taking out two of the inmates then holding the shivs she took from them to the last inmates throat and Drax's.
"I am no family to Ronan or Thanos." Gamora hissed then dropped her weapons as Rhea assessed her words skeptically. "I'm your only hope at stopping him."
"Woman, your words mean nothing to me!" Drax yelled as he held Gamora to a pole by her throat with a shiv ready to be shoved into her in his free hand.
"Hey, hey, hey…" Peter called out as he moved forward one hand outstretched.
"Oh crap." Rocket groaned, but Rhea watched him, her head cocked to the side.
"If killing Ronan is truly your soul purpose I don't think this is the best way to go about it." Peter tried to reason with him.
"Are you not the man that this witch attempted to kill?" Draw looked to him.
"Well she's hardly the first woman to try and do that to me." Peter replied then lifted up his shirt revealing a scar, Rhea's eyebrows rose as she looked over his abs. You could grind meat on those things. "This is from a smoking hot Rayjax girl, stabbed me with a fork, didn't like me skipping out on her at sunrise." He pulled down his shirt collar. "Right here, a Kree girl tried to rip out my thorax, caught me with this skinny little Auscverian who worked in records, I was trying to get information, have you ever seen an Aucaverian, tentacles and needles for teeth. You think I'm seriously interested in that then…" Drax just stared at him as Gamora struggled to breathe. "And you don't care, but here's the point, she betrayed Ronan and he's coming back for her and when he does, that when you…"
Peter made the kill sign across his throat.
"Why would I put my finger to his throat?" Drax asked with narrowed eyes.
"What?" Peter looked at him in confusion then realized. "Oh, this, it's a symbol." He repeated the action. "It's a symbol for you slicing his throat."
"I would no slice his throat, I would cut his head clean off." Drax replied.
"It's a general expression for you killing somebody." Peter said looking to another prisoner. "You've heard of this? Right? You know what this is."
"Yeah." The prisoner nodded.
"Everyone knows what it is." Peter said as Drax glared at the prisoner.
"No, no." The prisoner quickly amended making Peter hang his head. Rhea shook her head as she walked up to Drax, his eyes flashing to her dangerously. She held up her hands showing she had no weapons before she spoke.
"It is very simple. You can use her as bait to draw out Ronan and kill him in any way you want." Rhea said bluntly as she crossed her arms. Drax considered her words starring straight into her eyes accessing her truthfulness then nodded releasing Gamora who slid to the ground in a coughing heap as Drax starred down at the knife in his hand.
"I like your knife, I am keeping it." Drax said then walked away.
"That was my favorite knife." The inmate said sadly. Rhea walked over to Gamora and held out her hand, the assassin looked up at Rhea questioningly.
"I shouldn't have judged you so quickly." Was the only explination Rhea gave her. Gamora took her hand allowing the other woman to help her up. She nodded to Rhea before she left the room, but Peter quickly followed meaning Rhea and Rocket were right behind him.
"Listen I could care less whether you live or die." Peter called out as he followed her.
"Then why stop the big guy?" Gamora questioned.
"Simple, you know where to sell my orb." Peter replied.
"How are we gonna sell it when we and it are still here?" Gamora snapped gesturing around them.
"My friends Rocket and Rhea here has escaped 22 prisons." Peter replied looking to Rocket.
"Oh, we're getting out." Rocket nodded. "And then we're heading straight to Yondu to retrieve your bounty."
"How much was your buyer willing to pay for my orb?" Peter asked Gamora.
"Four billion units." Gamora replied.
"What!?" Rocket gasped.
"Cha-ching." Rhea breathed out.
"That orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan." Gamora said. "If you free us I'll lead you to the buyer directly and I'll split the profit between the four of us."
"I am Groot." Groot said as he walked up to them.
"Five of us." Rhea corrected.
"Asleep for the danger awake for the money as per fricken' usual." Rocket snapped before he walked off to Groot to find another place to sleep. Rhea walked up to Gamora meeting her gaze with a sharp penetrating look.
"If this is a trick and you betray us there is no star system where you can hide that I will not hunt you down to and kill you." Rhea said in a deadly voice then her face softened. "But if you are truly turning your back on Ronan and Thanos then I apologize for my earlier attitude, I of all people should know how Thanos gains and controls his allies."
Without another word Rhea walked away catching up with Rocket and Groot leaving behind a mildly surprised Gamora. She could only wonder at what Thanos had done to Rhea, but judging by the look in her eyes it was something that would be expected of the Mad Titan.
