Back at Nova headquarters a woman in official clothing and a blond hair was having a video conference with a Kree leader.
"Ronan is destroying Xandarian outposts throughout the galaxy." She said. "I should think that would call for some slight response on the part of the Kree."
"We signed a peace treaty, Nova Prime." The Kree leader growled. "What more do you want?
"At least a statement from the Kree Empire saying that they condemn his actions." Nova Prime insisted. "He is slaughtering children. Families."
"That is your business. Now, I have other matters to attend to." The Kree snarled and hung up.
"That was rude." Peter said.
"Which part?" Natasha asked. "The killing of innocent families, or that he hung up without saying goodbye?"
"Oh, uh… obviously the first thing that you said." Peter said slowly.
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"You were referring to him hanging up without saying goodbye, weren't you?" Tony asked.
"Well, it's rude!" Peter said.
"Kid…" Tony groaned.
"The other stuff isn't that nice, either." Peter mumbled defensively. "But manners are really important, too."
"Seriously?" Wanda asked.
"When I fought Toomes he said 'sorry' and 'excuse me'." Peter said.
"He tried to kill you." Rhodey said.
"But at least he had manners!" Peter said. Everyone sighed.
Nova Prime sighed and turned to her assistant, who was waiting patiently.
"Well, some good news. It looks like we've apprehended one of Ronan's compatriots." The assistant said and handed her a tablet showing the security footage in the other room.
Gamora, Peter, Rocket, and Groot were all lined up in some sort of holding cell.
Then it switched so only Gamora was there. It displayed all her information on the sides of it. She glared at the people going over her information.
"Hang on." Shuri said. She leaned forward and read something on the bottom of the screen. Then she gasped and looked at Gamora with wide, horrified eyes. "That says that you're the only survivor of your people! Is that true?!"
"What? No!" Gamora said. She looked at the screen and read the bottom. "That shouldn't say that…"
"That's so sad…" Peter said.
"So are you the last survivor of your people, or no?" Nat asked.
"No, I'm not!" Gamora snapped. "A long time ago, Thanos wiped out half my planet's population."
Peter gasped. "Thats sad, too." He said.
"But there's still a lot of people there… I think…" Gamora said.
"Have you been there recently?" Shuri asked.
"Well, no…" Gamora said hesitantly.
"Guys, there are still a lot of people on Gamora's planet." Quill said."So let's just let this matter go."
"Gamora. Surgically modified and trained as a living weapon." Corpsman Drey said.
Bucky raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Gamora, who was trying avoid everyone's gaze.
"The adopted daughter of the Mad Titan, Thanos. Recently, Thanos lent her and her sister Nebula out to Ronan, which leads us to believe that Thanos and Ronan are working together."
Next they moved onto Rockets cell. He had his arms crossed over his chest with a cowl on his face.
"Subject 89P13. Calls itself Rocket." Drey said. "The result of illegal genetic and cybernetic experiments on a lower life form."
Rocket glared at everyone menacingly, as if he was daring them to say something.
The next cell contained Groot. He had a big smile on his face and had to bend his head a little bit to keep from hitting the ceiling. His arms were slowly starting to grow back.
"What the heck?" One of the officers gasped.
"They call it Groot." Drey said as he skimmed through the information on the screen. "A humanoid plant that's been travelling recently as 89P13's personal house plant slash muscle."
"I am Groot!" Groot said, slightly offended.
"Ignore him." Rocket said. "You're not a houseplant."
"I am Groot." He whined.
"Oh, dont be so sensitive." Rocket said. "And watch your language."
"How can one watch language?" Drax asked. Everyone groaned.
"Its a figure of speech." Quill whispered.
"Ah." Drax said with a slight nod. "A metaphor."
"What? No." Shuri said. "Its an idiom..."
Drax looked even more confused.
ighed "Just let him believe its a metaphor." Quill sand shook his head.
Finally they switched to Peter's cell. Peter had his fist in the air and a puzzled look on his face.
"Peter Jason Quill, from Terra. Raised from youth by a band of mercenaries called the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta." Dey said.
Peter slowly made a winding motion next to his closed fist, and his middle finger slowly raised. Peter gasped with fake shock and stared at his hand, at the officers, and back at his hand.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know how this machine worked." Peter said with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He pretended to try to push his finger down with his other hand, but it kept springing up.
A few people laughed.
"You really are a child." Nat said.
"Thank you." Quill said.
"Quill is not a child." Drax said, confused. All the other guardians groaned.
"What she meant is that he acts like a child." Mantis explained.
"Oh." Drax nodded. "That is true."
"What a bunch of a-holes." The officer growled. The others laughed quietly. "Transport all four to the Kyln."
.
.
The screen changed and showed a high tech security prison hovering in the middle of space. The words "The Kyln" were displayed. Officers led the prisoners down a long hallway.
First was Rocket, then Gamora, then Peter, and finally Groot.
"I guess most of Nova Corps wanna uphold the laws, but these ones here, they're corrupt and cruel." Rocket laughed. "But, hey, that's not my problem. I ain't gonna be here long. I've escaped 22 prisons. This one's no different. You're lucky the broad showed up, because otherwise, me and Groot would be collecting that bounty right now, and you'd be getting drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers." Rocket snarled at Peter.
"You guys are criminals." Steve said.
"Oh, and all you guys are perfect goodie-two-shoes?" Rocket said.
"We've all done things that we're not proud of, but none of us have actually been to jail." Steve said.
"Well, some of us were temporally imprisoned on The Raft after our Civil War." Sam said. "But that doesn't count."
"Yes!" Scott said. "Other than the Raft, none of us have ever been to jail."
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"You've been to jail." Sam said after a moment.
"I told you that in confidence." Scott said in disbelief.
"Why were you in jail?" Rocket asked.
"He robbed someone." Sam said.
"No!" Scott said. "I hate that word! Robbery involves threat. I burgled someone. I am a cat burglar."
"That sounds pathetic." Rocket said.
"Okay, you said you were in jail 22 times." Scott said. "Why were you in jail?"
"Mostly illegal smuggling." Rocket said with a smirk. "A couple counts of assault. One or two accounts of murder."
"Murder?" Steve asked.
"Someone was annoying me." Rocket shrugged.
"That's… thats no excuse." Wanda said.
"Rule are really different in space." Rocket said.
"They're really not." Quill sighed.
"I've had a lot of folks try to kill me over the years. I ain't about to be brought down by a tree and a talking raccoon." Peter said dryly.
"Uh… what's a raccoon?" Rocket asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"What's a raccoon? Really?" Peter laughed. "It's what you are, stupid."
"Ain't no thing like me, except me." Rocket grinned and pointed to himself.
"You dont know what a raccoon is?" Tony asked. Rocket scowled.
"We try to stay away from the 'r' word." Gamora said.
"I dont!" Quill said. "I say whatever I want."
"Oh, shut up!" Rocket yelled.
"Why are you calling the puppy a raccoon?" Mantis asked. Everyone looked confused.
"He is not a puppy, he is a rabbit." Thor argued.
"What… no…" Peter said. "He's… raccoon…"
"I hate you all." Rocket grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.
Peter rolled his eyes and slowed down so he was next to Groot.
"So, this Orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe." Peter said to Groot and nodded his head towards the orb, which was currently being transported by one of the guards. "What is it?"
"I am Groot."
"So what? What's the Orb?" Peter asked, turning his attention to Gamora.
"I have no words for an honorless thief." Gamora said without turning to face him.
"Pretty high and mighty coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac." Rocket laughed. Gamora paused slightly in surprise and was forced forward by one of the guards. Rocket shot her a smug smile at her shocked expression. "Yeah, I know who you are. Anyone who's anyone knows who you are."
"Yeah, we know who you are." Peter grinned. He turned back to Groot. "Who is she?"
Everyone laughed.
"Ha ha." Quill, said sarcastically.
"I am Groot." Groot leaned down and said.
"Yeah, you said that." Peter snapped.
"I wasn't retrieving the Orb for Ronan. I was betraying him." Gamora sighed. "I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."
"I am Groot." Groot commented with a nod of his head.
"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first 89 times you told me that. What is wrong with Giving Tree, here?" Peter asked Rocket.
"Well, he don't know talking good like me and you. So his vocabulary is limited to "I" and "am" and "Groot." Exclusively in that order."
"I tell you what, that's gonna wear real thin, real fast." Peter said with a small sigh.
"How can you tell what he means if all hes says is 'I am Groot.'?" Tony asked.
"You have to listen to how long he holds each syllable, and how high pitched he talks." Quill shrugged. "Among other things."
"It's not that difficult." Thor said.
"It's complete gibberish." Tony said.
"I am Groot." Groot said.
"No, Mr. Stark is always like that. I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad by it." Peter said. Everyone went silent and looked at Peter.
"You understand Groot?" Rocket asked.
"Groot taught Shuri and I last time he was here." Peter said. Shuri and Peter high fived.
The passed a room where guards were going through their stuff. One of the guards put on Peters headphones and activated the walkman.
"Hey. Put that away." Peter shouted. The guard rolled his eyes and continued to mess with the walkman. Peter jumped into the room just as the door slammed shut. Rocket, Groot, and Gamora watched on with interest from the other side as Peter glared at the Guard.
"Hey! Listen to me! Take those headphones off!" Peter screamed. A few guards approached Peter and activated their weapons. "That's mine. Those belong to impound. That tape and that player is mine! Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!"
"You are an idiot." Drax said.
Quill glared at him.
The guards jumped forward and started beating Peter with their weapons.
As they did so the song Hooked on a Feeling started playing.
...I'm hooked on a feeling...
He fell to the ground and groaned. The continued to hit him over the head and on the back.
...I'm high on believing...
"You're getting beat up to the tune of an upbeat song from the 70's." Peter said while he tried to hold back a laugh.
"You dont say." Quill said sarcastically. "That's an amazing observation, Captain Obvious."
Peter tried to cover his head with his arms and pulled his knees up to his chest in an attempt to protect himself.
...That you're in love with me...
They dragged Peter up to his feet and through him into small room. Multiple pipes popped out of the wall and pointed at Peter. A dark red gas seeped into the room and Peter cried out in pain as the gas started burning him. Peter started hitting the door as hard as he could but it wouldn't budge.
...I'm hooked on a feeling...
The guards then dragged Peter out of the room by his arms and tossed him into another cell. Peter whipped around and ran towards the door, only to be stopped by multiple guns dropping down from the ceiling. Peter panted heavily and glared at the guards on the other side of the door.
The song slowly started to get quieter until it was silent.
"Thats horrible." Wanda said.
"That's the Kyln for you." Rocket said. "It's reserved for the worst of the worst."
He plopped down on a chair and pulled a bright yellow shirt over his head. The uniforms were comprised of a yellow t-shirt and a yellow pair of pants. Suddenly Rocket was shoved into the same cell. He glared at Peter and sulked over to the other side of the room.
Rocket turned around, and small metal electronics implanted in his upper back were visible.
Everyone went quiet and glanced over at Rocket. He avoided eye contact and stared at the wall.
Peter stared at them for a few moments with a confused look on his face until rocket pulled his shirt over his head and hid them from sight.
Rocket and Peter were both tossed a rolled up orange blanket and led out into the main room. Gamora and Groot were right behind them. The guards shoved them into the main room and slammed the door shut behind them. As they walked through the main room the other prisoners began to boo and ridicule them. Or, more specifically, the booed and ridiculed Gamora.
"You first! You first!" Someone hissed as they threw something at her.
"Murderer!" Another one screamed.
"Coming for you first, Gamora!" One threatened.
"You're dead!" Someone hissed.
"You're scum! You're scum!" Another one shrieked.
"Why are they being so mean to you?" Shuri asked.
"I am Groot?" Groot asked, concerned.
"I wasn't that popular." Gamora said. "I'm still not."
"But why?" Peter asked. Gamora raised an eyebrow and looked at him doubtfully.
"You do remember who my father is, right?" Gamora asked.
"Oh…" Peter said.
"It's like I said, she's got a rep." Rocket said. He gestured with his hand at Gamora, who was walking with her eyes focused on the ground. "A lot of prisoners here have lost their families to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."
"Murderer!" Someone yelled and threw a small can at her head, which she barely dodged.
"The guards will protect her, right?" Peter asked Rocket.
"You seem to care a lot about Gamoras safety." Tony said.
"Someones in love!" Shuri teased.
"It was only because she knew where to sell the Orb." Quill said. "It's not like I cared whether she lived or not."
Gamora crossed her arms and gave Quill a disbelieving look.
"Really?" She said. "You want to rephrase that?"
"Now I care very deeply about your survival and happiness. I love you. Like, a lot." Quill said quickly. "It's just back then I was more focused… on the… on the Orb… and… and… wow, I am saying a lot of things."
Gamora scowled.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Quill asked.
"Uh huh." Gamora said.
"Great." Quill sighed.
"They're here to stop us from getting out. They don't care what we do to each other inside." Rocket said.
"Whatever nightmares the future holds, are dreams compared to what's behind me." Gamora said calmly with her eyes closed.
"Nice." Scott said with a nod. "You should write fortune cookies."
"Whats a fortune cookie?" Gamora asked.
"You've never had a fortune cookie?" Tony said. "Oh, you poor, poor, girl."
"No, she's lucky." Clint said and wrinkled his nose. "Those things taste like cardboard."
"They're delicious!" Wanda said.
"They're awful." Bucky said.
"I dont know what food tastes like." Vision said.
"We're not going to have another Civil War just because we disagree about the taste of fortune cookies, are we?" Scott asked.
A few people laughed and a few people glared at him.
Suddenly a large man stepped in front of Peter and shoved him in the chest.
"Check out the new meat." The man mocked. He was almost twice the size of Peter. "I'm gonna slather you up in Gunavian jelly, and go to town…"
Groot shot his arm out and it grew incredibly fast. The end of his arm shot up the man's nose and kept going. The man cried out in pain as he was picked up off the ground.
"Oh, ow!" Wanda said. "Ugh, that's gotta hurt!"
"I am Groot?" Groot said curiously and looked at his hands.
"No, I'm not gonna teach you that move." Rocket said.
"I am Groot!"
"When you're older!" Rocket said.
"Let's make something clear." Rocket shouted, drawing everyone's attention to him. "This one here is our booty! You wanna get to him, you go through us! Or, more accurately, we go through you."
Groot let the man collapse to the ground and stepped over him; Rocket followed him.
"I'm with them." Peter smiled.
Gamora walked down the hallway with a group of angry prisoners following her. She slipped into her cell and locked the door behind her. She flinched when one of the prisoners threw themselves against the door.
"No cell's gonna protect you for long." A prisoner cackled. "You're dead! Dead!"
The prisoners slowly started to leave until Gamora was all alone.
However, there was one prisoner sitting at a table by himself, eyeing Gamoras cell bitterly.
Drax.