"It"s hard to believe that it"s been three months since the Kree-Nova War ended with the Treaty of Andromeda, sighed by Xandarian Empress Adora, Nova Prime Rael, and Kree High-Ruler Monn-Arrk, including the dozens of other governing bodies within both empires. While Xandarian celebrations are only now just seeming to end, Kree protests have only gotten more intense. The most outspoken being the now infamous Ronan the Accuser, who has separated from his government and is committing ma.s.sacres all across the cosmos in the name of his people, though how he"s gotten his military backing is still a mystery, as the Kree Amba.s.sador has denied any connection to the rogue captain." A Krylorian anchor reported, a his face a stoic façade as he read the teleprompter, "It"s almost unbelievable that the war wasn"t even close to ending not four months ago, thanks to fact that the War for Zephyr was still waging with increasing tensity. Progress was eventually capable of being made thanks to the outside interference of the man then only known as "The Celestial" or "Maelstrom." The man"s tremendous power proved invaluable in what had been the slow grind that was protecting the moon Zephyr from Kree control." The video of a ma.s.sive ethereal creature with nine tails that seemed to be made of golden fire appeared in the top left corner of the screen, the monster firing off a ma.s.sive ball of energy into a Kree Warship, destroying it in one blast.
The footage then cut over to what looked like a man made of the very same fire, the man decimating any and all Kree soldiers who dare get in his way, "It was thanks to him killing the then rogue Admiral Yon-Rogg that the Kree managed to get their men to agree to the armistice, giving both sides time to agree to the terms necessary to sign the treaty."
The anchor was about to continue when the screen cut out, leaving the only noise in the room being the blaring of the song, "I"m Not In Love." The psychedelic track vibrated across the room as the man that turned off the screen walked through it, grabbing the leather vest that was laying on the table. Walking pa.s.sed the bed, where a beautiful Krylorian woman slept peacefully, he silently made his way up to the upper deck of his ship, walking over to the pilot"s chair where he then took the controls away from autopilot. Seeing that he was entering the atmosphere of his destination he hovered over the sea of clouds, the various mountain regions peeking out from under them giving the pilot an incredibly beautiful view.
As he began to descend down, a call came through on the screen to his right, forcing him to sigh as he looked at who it was. Seeming to have a momentary internal struggle, he finally gave in and answered the call.
He wasn"t allowed to say a word as the caller yelled out, "You there yet boy?!"
"Yeah, yeah Yondu I"m here, I"m about to land now." The pilot answered.
"Good!" Yondu said, a smirk creeping onto his face, showing off his crooked yellow teeth that seemed to be made of a golden metal, "Now stay there and wait for us, we"ll be there in an hour."
"Well you see, that"s the thing Yondu, I figured I"d go ahead and scout out the are"
The feed was cut out, Yondu having ended the call in the middle of the pilot"s sentence. The pilot cursed as he leaned back in his chair. Giving a sigh he sat there, he silently flew the ship down to the surface. Quickly finding a landing spot, he leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for the hour long wait for Yondu. Rocking back and forth in the chair, he sat quietly for a few moments, the only sounds heard were the music still blaring in the background, the rapid pelting of rain on the still ship, and the sound of the chair creaking back and forth. Finally, he stopped.
"f.u.c.k this."
Quickly getting up from his seat, he walked down into the lower deck. Grabbing his blaster and then his Walkman, he popped the ca.s.sette that was playing out of the radio. Looking for his trench coat, he finally couldn"t help but release an agitated breath at seeing that the woman was using it as a blanket.
Walking over to her, he gently tried to pry it from her grasp while at the same time trying to keep her from waking up, a pointless endeavor it turned out as she almost immediately woke up, "Pe-Peter?" She tiredly stuttered, her thick Krylorian accent even worse in her drowsiness, "What"s going on?" Looking down to see he was trying to take the coat that was wrapped around her she then asked, "What"re you doing?"
"I"m uhhh…" Peter said, grasping at straws as he tried to think of an excuse, "I"m getting us some breakfast…but"s it"s raining." Nodding down at the coat he continued, "So…I need my coat."
"Oh…" She said, "Well…let me get dressed and I can go with yo-"
"No!" Peter interrupted, only to wince at the volume of his voice, "I mean...no you stay in bed, you look exhausted."
"Oh, well okay." The woman said tiredly, "Don"t take too long."
He gave a weak thumbs up, "Sure thing, I"ll be back in a sec." With that, she let go of the coat, allowing Peter to fling it on. Walking over to the bay door, he looked over to make sure she was back to sleep before opening it up. Looking out into the raining planet, he gave a sigh as he pressed down on his earpiece. As he did, a helmet began to expand from the nape of his neck to the front of this face, covering most of his head while leaving his hair out in the open. The helmet was silver in color with gold highlights. The area where the mouth should be looked to be an intricate rebreather, more than likely allowing him to breath in places where oxygen was lacking. To finish off the design, the circular eyes to the helmet were covered by a red lens that glowed in the dimly lit area.
"Welcome to Morag." He said, his m.u.f.fled mechanical voice barely audible thanks to the vast downpour.
-x-
Three Weeks Later
-x-
Walking through a pair of wide open double doors, Naruto walked into the ma.s.sive temple that seemed to have collapsed in on itself. Parts of the ceiling were gone, allowing beams of daylight to enter and the dripping rain to fall to the debris ridden floor. The only reason the top of the temple hadn"t fallen was because of the pillars that seemed to be held together by only luck. Looking around, Naruto couldn"t help but be reminded of a recently emptied fish tank, the golden motif of the temple plagued by vast amounts of coral and fungi.
Taking cautious steps, Naruto said, "Welp…this is it."
"And where is this exactly?" Kurama asked.
"Kurama, you seriously need to stop taking such long naps. I"m getting tired of having to explain my adventures midway through." Naruto thought, kicking a weird looking rat that scurried up to him as he did, "What the f.u.c.k was that?!" He yelled out, looking at the freaky little monster.
"Hey, it"s not my fault that all I have to do to keep me occupied is sitting here watching you and nap. You haven"t let me out in months."
"That was during a fight. I can"t just let you out w.i.l.l.y nilly, you"re a walking talking natural disaster." Seeing that there was a ma.s.sive crevice in front of him, Naruto poured chakra into his legs before jumping, clearing the crevice like a champ.
"Bah." Kurama said, "You make that sound like a badthing."
"And that"s the problem." Naruto thought, "And this is the place that Gog told us about, the powerful object on the planet Morag."
"And we"re looking for this "powerful object" why?" Kurama asked.
"Because this is the only lead we have at the moment that I actually want to follow. It"s this or go to Earth, somewhere in the Nine Realms, or go and fight Thanos for his stone. Now, can we please continue this little quest of ours, or do I need to give more exposition?" Naruto said, his annoyance clear.
"Whatever." Kurama said with a sigh, "This better be interesting though, or I"m gonna be p.i.s.sed."
Coming up to the end of the temple, he stood in front of a ma.s.sive stone door, that like the front door, was wide open. Walking into the dark room, with the only source of light being the large wall towards the back of the room. Raising up his arm, he allowed his it to be enveloped by Kurama"s chakra. His arm now covered by a yellow fire, the room was now illuminated in a golden hue. Walking into the room further, Naruto could now completely make out that in the middle of the room seemed to be some kind of containment device, though it seemed to be deactivated.
Inspecting it further, he sighed in agitation as he said, "Well s.h.i.t. Whatever was here is gone." Scratching the back of his head he said, "That"s just f.u.c.king great."
He was about to turn around to leave when he heard the sound of several people run up behind him. Turning around, he looked surprised at the squad of Sakarran soldiers. The insectoid men all had their guns raised towards Naruto, their dark brown armor gleaming the golden light, "Hold it!" The lead Sakaaran shouted, his voice a harsh hiss, "What are you doing here?!" He demanded.
"I could ask you guys the same thing." Naruto said lazily, "You guys haven"t seen an object that"s supposed to hold a lot of power around here have you?"
The Sakaaran"s looked amongst themselves, the leader hesitating for a moment before hissing, "What do you know of the orb?"
"The orb? So that"s what it"s called." Naruto mumbled, "Well, all I know is it was supposed to be here. What do you know about it?"
The leader didn"t say a word at first, simply looking Naruto over for a second before the soldier to his left said, "Korath ordered us to kill anyone that came here, remember?"
Nodding, he said, "Aye, I do." With that, he raised his rifle up so that it was pointing right at Naruto"s forehead. He wasn"t allowed to pull the trigger however, as he found his airway nearly being crushed by the strange blonde man, his flaming hand squeezing his throat hard enough he thought he felt his spinal column collapse.
Naruto didn"t waste any time, throwing the man to the side before giving a quick kick into the Sakaaran to his left, his foot driving into the man"s midsection. The sound of breaking ribs could barely be heard over the sounds of laser fire, the four other Sakaarans" doing their best to hit the blonde. When they all realized that their target was no longer in front of them, they quickly began to look around. Quickly becoming confused, they each began to think he"d somehow escaped. The Sakaaran furthest to the right then heard a piece of stalact.i.te fall to the ground, the rock nearly landing on his foot. Looking up, he gave a startled gasp, only for it to be interrupted by a kunai lodging itself in between his eyes.
The remaining soldiers weren"t able to do a thing about their fallen comrade, as a wall of fire suddenly fell upon them from above, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Naruto, the lead Sakaaran under his arm, walked away from the chamber, whistling a jaunty toon as he went. Now a good distance from the blazing inferno he"d created, he set the insect man down, "This interesting yet?" Naruto asked his partner.
"It"s getting there." Kurama said with a soft shrug.
Propping the man up against one of the many pillars loitering around the temple, he fed Earth Chakra into the ground, controlling it into forming cuffs around his wrists and ankles. Taking off the Sakaaran"s helmet, he pressed his pointer finger up against the man"s temple. Shooting a quick pump of lightning into him, Naruto watched with an amused smirk as the man jerked awake. At first giving a struggled attempt to get up, he quickly realized he was bound. Giving the cuffs a test by giving them a swift jerk, he sighed in frustration as he looked over at the still smirking Naruto.
"What do you want?" He hissed out harshly.
Naruto shrugged, "Just tell me what that orb is, who has it, and who it is you work for."
"And if I don"t?" He asked challengingly.
"Simple." Naruto said.
With that single word, the Sakaaran soldier"s mind was suddenly flooded with the sight of a ma.s.sive nine tailed monster tearing him apart, stomping and chewing on him like a pet would with a chew toy. The sight of buildings burning, his loved ones lying dead on the floor, the blonde man standing over them with their blood splattered all over him. He saw planets imploding in on themselves, galaxies falling apart, and the universe itself being torn in twain. And just like that, as quickly as it came it went, leaving the man a sweating mess as he tried to catch his breath.
"Wh-wha….what are you?" He stuttered out.
Naruto shrugged once again, "That depends on your answer. So…what will it be?"
The Sakaaran soldier didn"t even hesitate.
-x-
Naruto sat in his ship"s c.o.c.kpit, his hands folded under his chin as he thought over what he was told. Apparently, the soldier hadn"t been informed on what the orb actually was, only that his employer wanted it desperately. As far as who took the orb, all he knew was that it was a guy in Ravager garb who called himself "Star-Lord." Really the only good information he gave was that he was working for Ronan the Accuser, who was then working with the Mad t.i.tan in his quest to destroy Xandar, which answered the question of who was funding his little ma.s.sacres across the galaxy. This bit of news was honestly perfect as far as Naruto was concerned. He was planning on confronting the Accuser soon anyway after he"d heard of the ma.s.sive tantrum he"d been throwing the last couple months. Now not only could he get a hold of this...o...b.. something that Thanos seemed to be interested in too, but he could also take on Ronan who he was sure was in the middle of the whole thing.
Thinking of only one person who would know who this Star-Lord was, he quickly went through his contacts on his Uta. Selecting the person he was looking for, he waited patiently for them to answer. Finally, a face popped up on the screen in front of him.
"Long time no see Naruto." The sweet melody of Tara"s voice meeting Naruto"s ears.
Smirking, Naruto said, "It sure has, how"s the crew?"
"Oh, you know," The captain"s daughter began, "Same s.h.i.t as ever."
Nodding, Naruto replied, "Yeah, I figured."
"So, what do ya need Naruto?" Tara asked.
"What makes you think I need anything?" The blonde warrior asked sheepishly.
The woman gave Naruto a blank stare, "Cause you only ever call when you needsomething, that"s what."
Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto gave his patented smile, "Yeah…I"ll make it up to you, I promise."
"You promise huh?"
"Hey, I never break my promises. So, just know that at some point in time I"ll be making it up to you. Besides, this isn"t even that big of a favor. I just need to know if you"ve ever heard of a particular Ravager." Naruto explained.
Tara gave an exasperated sigh, "There are thousands of Ravagers in circulation at the moment Naruto, I doubt I"d know whoever it is your looking for."
"Yeah, I know, but this guy has a "codename."" Naruto said, throwing out some air quotes as he finished the sentence, "He goes by "Star-Lord. Apparently, he too-"
"Did you just say Star-Lord?" Tara interrupted.
"Uh…" Naruto murmured, "Yeah?"
Tara sighed once again, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did, "Yeah…yeah I know him." Looking back up she said, "He"s one of Yondu"s, name"s Peter Quill. Their main intermediary is Broker, I"d start there."
"Really?" Naruto said, "That"s awesome, I"m heading there now. Thanks for the help." With Tara giving a nod of acknowledgement, Naruto was about to cut off the feed, "Alright, next destination, Xandaria."
"Hey wait!"
Naruto paused, looking back down at the screen, "Yeah?"
"More than likely, the idiot"s pulled a fast one on Yondu, which means that the blue b.a.s.t.a.r.d is going after him as well. If or when you see him, give him a good punch in the face for me." Tara requested.
Naruto shrugged, "Sure, I guess."
With that, Tara cut off the feed.
-x-
Location: Kree Warship the Dark Aster
-x-
The Dark Aster could only be described by one word: ma.s.sive. Even compared to most other Kree Warships, this vast vessel was on a whole other level of size and power. The appearance of the ship was that of a ma.s.sive skysc.r.a.per turned over on its side, with the corners twisted and turned like a twizzler. The dark behemoth loomed in the ever dark void that was the cosmos, the captain of said ship waiting patiently in his chambers for the ship to head for its next destination.
"Sir, sir! We have news from Morag!" Korath shouted out as he entered the vast chambers, "One of our patrolling squadrons has been annihilated, with only one survivor." Korath was a man of dark brown skin that appeared to be part man part machine, with mechanical pieces sticking out of his head every which way.
Perched upon his throne was Ronan the Accuser himself, the Kree fanatic wearing the traditional battle armor of his people, only his was a dark black in color. Unlike most Kree warriors, his skin was almost completely covered by a thick black war paint, giving his menacing appearance another extra oomph. Resting to his right sat his weapon of choice, the Cosmi-Rod. This powerful warhammer has ended many Xandarian lives, their dried blood clearly visible on the face of the hammer. And there, sitting to his left, was Nebula. The blue skinned a.s.sa.s.sin tweaking with her robotic prosthetic arm, a tool of some kind playing around with the insides of her forearm.
His chin resting on his fist, Ronan allowed his baritone voice to echo across the chambers, "Bring him to me."
Quickly nodding, Korath motioned for whoever was outside the chambers to enter. His pace was slow, as his limp prevented him from going at a speed any faster. Finally making his way to the center of the room. Looking up, the man gave a firm solute, "My lord."
"Who was it that attacked you?" Ronan asked, his voice holding a dangerous edge to it.
"Hi-his name I do not know. But he was powerful. He was fast, strong, and could breathe fire."
"Sir…this sounds like-" Korath began to say.
"Like the "Celestial."" Ronan interrupted, Nebula"s head shooting up at the mentioning of the man. Getting up from him seat, he grabbed onto the handle of his hammer, taking it with him as he walked closer to the Sakarran soldier, "And how is it that you managed to survive an encounter with that man."
"He told me…to give you a message." Reaching into his breast plate, the man extended it out towards his master.
s.n.a.t.c.hing the slip of paper from his grip, Ronan silently unfolded the paper. Looking it over for only a second, he growled angrily as he crumpled the paper into a little ball before throwing it to the side.
"What did it say?" Nebula asked.
"Nothing." Ronan said, "It was gibberish."
"So…what now?" Korath asked, "If the "Celestial" is after the orb as well, that complicates matters."
"It complicates nothing. Once I retrieve the orb, Thanos will annihilate Xandar and its little hero." Ronan said, his voice filled with absolute a.s.surance.
"Not if I don"t kill him first." Nebula said darkly, rubbing her shoulder tenderly as she did.
Giving a cruel smirk, Ronan said, "Of course, I forgot about your little vendetta against him." Heading back to his throne, he sat down as he continued, "Rest a.s.sured you will have your chance with him, after we raid the Kyln."
"Whatever you say."
-x-
Location: The City of Xandaria of the Planet Xandar
-x-
Naruto walked out of his M-Ship giving a few testing stretches. Giving an overly loud groan, Naruto whined, "Why did there have to be so many Jump Points in between Morag and Xandar? I mean 97 jumps seems like a bit of a stretch."
"Would you shut the f.u.c.k up about it already?" Kurama demanded, "I get it, it was a long trip. For Sage"s sake, would you stop whining?!"
Finally popping the knot out of his back, Naruto said, "Hey, I"m not whining. I"m just observing the fact that there were 90 jumps more than necessary. That"s all I"m saying."
"You"re almost as annoying as Hashirama was, and that"s not a compliment."
Naruto shrugged, not seeing the point in arguing further. Walking over to the side of his ship, he made to slap his hand on the cool metal, "Seal!" He shouted as a fuinjutsu marking appeared on the palm of his hand. Right as his hand made contact, the ship was enveloped in a ma.s.sive cloud of smoke. Quickly exerting some wind chakra, Naruto blew the smoke away, revealing the Kushina to have disappeared. A satisfied smirk on his face, Naruto said, "Oh yeah, fuinjutsu is the f.u.c.king s.h.i.t man, I"m telling you." After a moment, he thought, "No offence Kurama."
"Some taken." Kurama mumbled, "You do know you did that if front of everybody else on the docking bay, right?"
Looking around, Naruto raised an eyebrow at all the people that were staring at him in extreme levels of shock, a mult.i.tude of them pointing at him and whispering to each other not so discreetly. Rubbing the back of his head rather sheepishly, Naruto gave a rather weak wave, "Uh…hey?"
Wanting to get away from the gawking public, Naruto quickly disappeared in a Body Flicker. Appearing on a rooftop several blocks away, the blonde looked around to get his bearings. Easily spotting the Broker"s building, Naruto began to skip along the various rooftops, dead set on getting their as quickly as he could without getting too much attention. After only a few minutes of maneuvering along the city, Naruto landed in the ma.s.sive courtyard that the Broker"s building resided. Submerging himself into the sea of people, Naruto did his best to weave through the crowd seamlessly.
Finally making his way to the building, Naruto walked through the open doorway. Seeing that the man had his back turned, the blonde walked up to the counter and began to wait patiently. As time ticked on, and Broker continued to look at whatever it was in his hands, Naruto grew more and more impatient. After nearly three minutes of waiting, the blonde finally gave a very loud cough into his hand. Startled, Broker nearly dropped the object, juggling it momentarily before finally securing it once more in his hands. Turning sharply, more than likely about to admonish whoever was so foolish as to startle him in the middle of his work, only to pale at the sight of Naruto "Maelstrom" Uzumaki.
"ah…Mr. Uzumaki." Broker stuttered, "How…how may I help you today?" He asked as he gently rested what was in his hand on the counter.
Giving a charming smile, Naruto said, "Just have a few questions for you, that"s all."
"What kind of questions?" Broker asked suspiciously.
"Oh, you know…the Ravager kind."
That was all Broker needed to hear before he quickly rushed around the counter, heading towards the door. Swaying his arms hurriedly in front of the sensor, he shut the automatic doors before activating the locking device. Turning back around scathingly he said, "You should know better than to talk of such things when the door was wide open."
"And you should know better than to leave the door open when you do this kind of business." Naruto countered.
"An open door shows I have nothing to hide. The Nova Corps is already looking into my business transactions, I can"t have them think I look suspicious." The rat man said back.
"Yeah, sure." Naruto said with a slight roll of the eyes, "I just need to know if you"ve done business with a guy calling himself "Star-Lord.""
Broker looked at Naruto quizzically, "Star-Lord?" Seeing Naruto nod he continued, "I"ve never worked with a man going by such a ridiculous moniker, that I know of at least."
Naruto sighed, "His real name is Peter Quill."
The mention of that name immediately caused a chain reaction in Broker"s facial expression, the man almost instantly becoming shifty and nervous as he tried to walk pa.s.sed Naruto so he could get back behind the counter, "I"m sorry to say that I"ve never worked with a man named "Peter Quill" either."
"Oh really?" Naruto asked, "That"s not what Tara told me. She said that you work with him and his captain quite a bit." Leaning over the counter he asked, "Why"re you lying to me Broker?"
"I-I"m doing no such thing! Surely Ms. Tara is mistaken, as I"ve never heard of this Quill in my life." Broker insisted.
Naruto sighed, "Look man, I can tell you"re lying. I don"t need to sense it either, you"ve got more tells than a Catholic altar boy."
"A what?" Broker asked.
"…never mind." Naruto said as he rubbed his eyelid in agitation, "Now just tell me if he came in here with an orb like object so I can go about my freaking day."
"I-I don"t know."
The blonde warrior looked Broker in the eye, entering a momentary staring contest, before he finally backed off, taking several steps back as he did. Looking around, Naruto walked over to one of the cases loitering around the room. Opening one up, he took what looked like a very delicate golden figurine out, holding it out in his palm, "I"m gonna ask again, did you have a transaction with Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord?"
"Please, no!" Broker begged, "That is worth over Three Million Units! It"s the last of its kind-"
"And I"m gonna break it if you don"t tell me what I want to know." Naruto interrupted, "You have three seconds. Three. Two. O-"
"I had nothing to do with the orb!" Broker screamed, practically on his knees as he looked at Naruto, "You have to believe me! I canceled my transaction with Quill as soon as I discovered who your boss was! I swear!"
"My boss?" Naruto asked.
"Ye-yes!" Broker said with confusion in his voice, "You"re working with the Accuser, aren"t you?"
"You think I"m working with Ronan the Accuser?" Naruto asked. When Broker gave a frantic nod, he robbed the side of his face in frustration, "Dude…I"m notworking for the guy."
"You"re…you"re not?"
"No."
"Oh." Broker said rather weekly.
Pulling the rat man up to his feet, Naruto asked, "What the h.e.l.l gave you that idea?"
"I don"t know, I just a.s.sumed that-"
"You just a.s.sumed that I was working for a homicidal maniac? You do watch the news, right? I"m the last guy you should a.s.sume is working with a someone like that." Naruto said, "Do you know where Quill might"ve gone after you kicked him out?"
Broker nodded, "He got picked up by the Nova Corps a couple weeks ago, just a few minutes after our meeting. I don"t know what for."
"…s.h.i.t."
-x-
Location: Nova Corps Headquarters
-x-
"What do you mean you won"t let me in?" Naruto asked in clear agitation.
The two Nova Corpsman guarding the entrance into the Nova Corps Headquarters looked at Naruto with an equal amount of annoyance, "Only authorized personal are allowed into this building. If you have an issue, take it to your local precinct." The Corpsman to the left said.
The one to the right spoke up, "It doesn"t matter whoyou are, you have to follow procedure just like everybody else."
"Look," Naruto said, "You obviously know who I am. Which means that you should know that the only reason I"d be here is if it"s super freaking important. So, if you would be so kind as to let me inside, I"d really appreciate it. Otherwise I"m just gonna sneak in. So, what"s it gonna be?"
The Corpsman to the left began to reach for his baton, only for a voice to interrupt him, "You do know that you could"ve just called, right?"
Turning around, Naruto was greeted by a Millenian ranked officer. The officer of the Nova Corps seemed rather plain as far as appearances went, with thick brown curly hair and a face that didn"t really jump out of a crowd. The middle-aged man walked up to the blonde, resting his hand on his shoulder as the man said, "Don"t worry, he"s with me."
The arrival of one of their superior officers seemed to placate the Corpsman, the two of them giving swift solutes as the said, "Yes, sir."
Walking pa.s.sed the two guards, the Millenian waited until the doors were closed, "So, what brings the famous "Hero of Zephyr" to these necks of the woods?"
"I"m sorry," Naruto said, taking a few steps away from the man, "but do I know you?"
"No, no I suppose you wouldn"t." The man said, "We"ve never actually met in person, though I was there when you met with the Centurions stationed on Zephyr, after you killed Yon-Rogg. I don"t think I"ve ever seen them so browbeat." Reaching a hand out he said, "The names Rhomann Dey."
Shaking Rhomann"s hand he said, "Naruto Uzumaki."
"So, what"re you doing here exactly?" Rhomann asked.
Remembering why he was there in the first place, Naruto said, "I"m here because I"ve been looking for a guy named Peter Quill. The last person who saw him said he got picked up by you guys a couple weeks ago."
Rhomann gave a quick laugh, "You mean Star-Prince? Yeah, I"m the one that picked him up. The guy was fighting in the courtyard by Nova Park. Picked up him and a handful of others too, all of them wanted for a bunch of different crimes. h.e.l.l, one of them got me promoted up to the rank of Millenian."
"Who did you pick up?" Naruto asked out of curiosity.
Smirking, Rhomann said, "Here, let me show you."
"Really?" Naruto asked.
Turning to look back at the blonde, Rhomann said, "You saved a lot of lives when you ended that battle. You"re a big part of the reason the treaty got signed at all. It"s the least I could do." Beginning to walk towards the destination he finished, "Come on, follow me."
-x-
Walking into one of the processing rooms, Naruto sat down next to the Nova officer as he said, "So are you gonna tell me or what? The suspense is killing me." He finished as with sarcasm clearly in his voice.
His smirk still in play, Rhomann pulled up four video feeds up onto the ma.s.sive screen in front of them, "Alright, alright. Here"s the first one."
Expanding the first feed, Naruto was gifted the sight of what looked like a bipedal rac.o.o.n. Said creature wore an orange and grey vest that covered its torso and shoulders, with pants that allowed the tail to move around freely. As the video feed played, Naruto raised an amused eyebrow as it gave the camera a snarl before rebelliously hocking a loogy on the floor, "This is Subject: 89P13. It"s the result of illegal genetic and cybernetic experimentations on lower lifeforms. Wanted for multiple counts of theft, mercenary work, and arson. It has currently escaped from incarceration 22 times."
Pulling up the next feed, Rhomann showcased what looked to be a humanoid tree, it"s lanky wooden body too tall for the camera, causing his head to peak over it by quite a bit. The thing that really peaked Naruto"s interest was that it seemed to be regrowing its arms, "This Flora Colossus is called Groot, a reference to the fact that the only thing it seems to say is, "I am Groot." It"s been travelling around as 89P13"s personal house plant and muscle." As Rhomann finished his little explanation, the videoed Groot began to naively walk up to the camera, giving it a silly wave with its miniature arms.
"Now this was the golden egg." The Millenian said excitedly, pulling up the third video.
As soon as Naruto saw who it was, he leaned forward in shock, "Gamora?"
This caused Rhomann to look at the blonde curiously, "You know her?"
"Yeah." Naruto said, nodding his head as he did, "She and her sister tried to kill me a few months back." Looking over at Rhomann he asked, "You actually managed to capture her?"
"Well," Rhomann started, "She was pa.s.sed out when we got a hold of her." He admitted.
"That explains how you"re alive then." Naruto said, "Her and her sister are f.u.c.king dangerous. Not to me of course…just people in general."
Giving a silent grumble, the officer pulled back the video before bring the fourth and last one, "This is the guy you"re looking for." Naruto watched as a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties popped up on the screen. The man"s thick brown hair had a bit of a waviness too it, but not by much, with scruffy facial hair running down his jaw line to form a mild beard. His red leather jacket bore the Ravager symbol on the left breast, with a dark blue shirt underneath. Naruto smirked in amus.e.m.e.nt as he began to "wind up" his hand like a jack in the box, his middle finger raising slowly before he was eventually flipping the camera the bird.
"Oh, I"m sorry…I didn"t know how this machine worked." The man said, sarcasm overflowing from of his voice.
"Peter Jason Quill, from Terra. The guy was raised as kid by a band of Ravagers lead by Yondu Udonta. Record shows that he has one count of fraud, a.s.sault, and public intoxicatio-"
"Wait a minute." Naruto said, "This guy"s from Terra, as in Earth?" He asked.
"Yeah, why?"
Naruto didn"t say anything, only leaning back into his chair as he thought, "Holy s.h.i.t. What"re the chances of that?"
"Pretty slim if you ask me." Kurama answered, "My question is how a brat from Earth managed to find himself all the way out here?"
Looking back at Rhomann, he asked, "Did you happen to confiscate any of his stuff?"
"Yeah we did." The officer answered, "But all his belongings got sent with him to where he"s being held."
"Which is?"
"The Kyln, that"s where all four of them got sent." Rhomann said, "A little harsh for the likes of Quill, but considering who it was he got arrested with, I suppose there really wasn"t any other option."
Naruto scratched his scalp as he said, "So I"m going to the Kyln then."
"Why"re you looking for Quill in the first place?"
"He took something that I"ve been looking for. Something that Ronan the Accuser seems to have a similar interest in, not to mention Thanos, and now Yondu and his Ravagers. I"m hoping that it"s with the rest of his stuff on the Kyln."
"Wait so Ronan is-"
"Millenian Dey, please report to the Nova Prime"s office immediately." A voice broke out over PA system, interrupting the man in the middle of his question, "And please bring your guest along as well."
Cursing, Rhomann got up from his chair, straightening his uniform as he did, "Come on, one of the higher ups most of heard you were here."
"Oh ugh, alright." Naruto said getting up as well as he placed his hands behind his head, "I was gonna talk to the Nova Prime anyway."
"…right."
-x-
Standing across Naruto and Millenian Dey was a woman that looked to be in her later years, late seventies or early eighties being Naruto"s guess. Wearing the female version of an officer"s uniform, only with a matching business jacket over it, the woman gave off a feel of total authority and control. This was Nova Prime Irani Rael, the second most powerful person on Xandar. Standing to her left was Denarian Garthan Saal, the man as regal as ever.
"Is there a reason you kept the fact that Mr. Uzumaki had arrived here at Headquarters a secret from me?" Rael asked, her voice deathly serious.
Rhomann had the curtesy to look admonished, his head down as he said, "My apologies ma"am, it was never my intention to keep his arrival a secret. I was merely showing him some of our recent arrests."
"Recent arrests?" Rael asked, "Are you referring to the arrest of one of Thanos"s daughters?"
"Yes ma"am."
"And why did you feel the need to show them to him?" Rael asked.
"Well…" Rhomann started, slight hesitating, "They aren"t cla.s.sified doc.u.ments ma"am, I didn"t see the harm in-"
"Didn"t see the harm?" Saal interrupted, "Didn"t see the harm?! Do you have any idea how unethical it is to show a civilian Nova Corps doc.u.ments, no matter what they are? You"ve only just been promoted Millenian Dey, it would be a shame if you got demoted after only three weeks."
"Do be fair sir, you can"t really technify him as a civilian. He is after all the "Hero of-"
Saal interrupted him again, "I know exactly what he is. But we can"t simply break the rules because he"s a celebrity-"
Rael raised her hand to stop Saal, looking Naruto in the eye as she spoke, said blonde not really looking all that interested in the conversation, "While you are right that we can"t break the rules when it comes to things like this, Denarian Saal…there are times when exceptions can be made." Looking to Dey she continued, "But the next time this happens, send him straight to me. No more detours. Understood?"
"Yes ma"am."
"Good." With a wave of her hand she said, "You"re dismissed."
Giving a quick solute, Rhomann left the meeting room, Naruto watching after the man until the door was shut behind him, prompting the blonde to look back over at Rael, "He"s a good man, don"t demote him because of me."
Rael sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "He won"t be getting a demotion, that I a.s.sure you. Millenian Dey is a hardworking officer, and like you said a good man." Resting her hands on her arm rest she said, "So, what brings you here Uzumaki? And please make it quick I have a bit of an emergency on my hands."
Logging the emergency bit for later, Naruto said, "I"m looking for information on a Ravager named Peter Quill, aka Star-Prince…or Lord. I don"t know. Anyway, he"s in one of your high security prisons, the Kyln to be specific."
"The Kyln?" Rael asked for clarification, "And you said his name is Peter Quill?" When Naruto nodded, she began to rub the bridge of her nose, more than likely trying to preemptively kill the headache that had begun to build up, "Well I"m sorry to inform you that Peter Quill has escaped the Kyln, him and four others. The five fugitives pulled off an escape the likes of which we"d never seen, and just in time to miss the arrival of Ronan the Accuser."
"Wait…so Ronan the Accuser was there too?" Naruto asked, "Sage"s sake how am I so behind the ball on this one?" He said to himself, scratching his scalp in thought, "So is that you"re "little emergency?""
Rael nodded, "We just received the transmission, we"re sending a fleet now."
"Mind if I tag along?" Naruto asked.
-x-
Location: The Kyln
-x-
The stench of death hung in the air as Naruto leaned against the railing of the highest level, peering down into the open commons area where Naruto could barely see the floor, seeing how a majority of it was covered by either the ma.s.sive pile of corpses or the lake of mixed color blood. Looking around him Naruto held back a grimace at the bodies littered around him. Some had their throats slit, others shot in the head, and a few were simply pummeled to death, their broken bodies lying lifelessly on the balcony.
Walking over to him, Saal seemed to be wiping away a trail of vomit from the side of his mouth, "No matter how many times you see it, you never get used to this much death all in one place." He said, leaning against the rail as he did, "Every last prisoner and guard is dead, and all video footage after their arrival has been erased. They obviously didn"t want us to know why they were here."
"Isn"t it obvious?" Naruto asked, "They were here for the exact same reason I am."
"…Quill." Saal said.
"More specifically what Quill has. Which means, if I find Quill I"ll find Ronan." Naruto mumbled getting up off the rail, "Where the security room? Maybe I"ll find something in the footage, a.s.suming not all of it"s been scrubbed."
Saal shook his head, "No, just when they were here." Getting off the rail himself, he said, "I"ll take you there."
Finding himself sitting in front of a screen once again, Naruto rolled through the security footage, starting from Quill"s first day on the Kyln. Skipping the first few hours of Quill, Subject: 89P13, Groot, and Gamora getting processed through the prison, he let the footage play through as Subject: 89P13 and Groot claimed Quill as their "booty," driving this fact home by Groot shoving his fingers into one of the more aggressive inmate"s nostrils and more than likely into his cranium. Fast forwarding further, he stopped when he saw Gamora get pulled out of her cell by a handful of inmates wielding makeshift knives and shivs. The inmates were interrupted from their attempted murder by a ma.s.sive grey skinned man with angry red tribal tattoos all over his body. The man, later named Drax the Destroyer, staked claim on Gamora"s life, only to be stopped by Quill and Subject: 89P13. Fast forwarding a bit further, Naruto watched as Gamora, Quill, Subject: 89P13, and Groot talked about their escape, with the three agreeing to work together and split the reward for bringing the orb to Gamora"s employer.
"Four Billion Units…holy s.h.i.t." Naruto said as he leaned back in his chair, watching as the four planned out their escape, only for Groot to start the plan a little bit too early. Looking over at Saal he asked, "Who the h.e.l.l"s able to pay that much money for something like this?"
Saal watched with interest as the four plus Drax fought off the guards trying to prevent them from escaping, "Well…there"s only a few people I can think of who"d be willing to spend that much money at all, and only one that would do so for a little trinket."
Naruto raised an eyebrow as the five convened on the watchtower, with Subject: 89P13 somehow managing to turn off the gravity everywhere but inside the room they were in, and then having the room detach from the rest of the tower and have several of the guard drones act as boosters to send them flying out of the prison area, "And who exactly would that be?"
The Denarian couldn"t help but scoff as he watched Quill separate from the group in order to retrieve his music playing device, the man escaping the facility via escape hatch, "Ta.n.a.leer Tivan, aka the Collector." Turning off the footage he continued, "The guy"s based on Knowhere, the severed head of an ancie-"
"Ancient celestial being where there are zero laws or regulations, where only the lowliest of the low reside. Yeah, I"ve been there a few times." Smirking he added, "And I just happen to have an express ticket."
"A what-"
"I"ll contact of you guys as soon as I get a hold of the orb or Ronan, whichever comes first." Getting up from his chair, he began to mentally search for the Hiraishin Tag on Knowhere. Eventually finding it, he gave a three-fingered solute to the Denarian sitting in front of him, "Thanks for the help Saal, maybe you"re not such an a.s.shole after all." Naruto said with a smirk as he disappeared out of nowhere.
"Yeah…I"m the a.s.shole."
-x-
Location: Knowhere
-x-
Naruto stumbled as he flashed over to his Hiraishin Tag stationed on one of the various buildings on the lawless cesspool that is Knowhere. Gaining his bearings, Naruto looked around as he saw what looked like multiple Sakaaran Necrocrafts leaving the gaping exit that is the eyehole of the ancient head. Cursing, Naruto began to look around for any other Necrocrafts flying around, only to see a Mining-Pod beginning to land down just a few blocks from him. Knowing that those weren"t meant to just be flown around in open s.p.a.ce, Naruto made his way over to its location.
Skipping across the rooftops, Naruto finally arrived where the Mining-Pod was about to land, only to come face to face with the walking Woodstyle Jutsu known as Groot, the walking tree pulling Drax the Destroyer out of a vat of Celestial spinal fluid. Quickly seeing that the man wasn"t breathing, Naruto jumped down to give some a.s.sistance. Rushing over to the downed warrior and the barely articulate tree, Naruto knelt down at the grey skinned man"s side. Reaching his now flaming hand down to open up his air ways, he found his hand stopped by the wooden hand closing around his wrist.
Looking up, Naruto saw that Groot looking at him warily. Giving a comforting smile, Naruto said, "Trust me."
The walking house plant looked into the blonde stranger"s eyes for several seconds, obviously not trusting the man. After what felt like an eternity, Groot finally let go of his wrist, allowing him to rest his hand against Drax"s chest. Closing his eyes, Naruto focused his mind as he willed the excess liquid out of the Destroyer"s lungs. It only took a second, and before long the man started throwing up the yellow fluid, his eyes widening in shock as he coughed his way into consciousness. Getting up into a sitting position, Drax continued to catch his breath as the Mining-Pod landed.
With a violent thud it skipped along the ground before eventually coming to a dead stop, the hatch door opening up to reveal Subject: 89P13 getting down to exit the pod, "Blasted idiots! They"re all idiots!" Jumping down to the ground below he continued, "Quill just got himself captured!" He shouted to Drax and Groot, seemingly not seeing Naruto at first. Pointing directly at the Destroyer he growled in anger, "None of this ever would"ve happened if you didn"t try to single handedly take on a freaking army!" Finally seeming to notice Naruto he then pointed at him, still looking at Drax and Groot, "And who the h.e.l.l"s this guy?!"
Drax, having just gained his breath, looked at the much smaller creature rather pathetically, "You"re right." His breathing still heavy, Groot soothingly rested a helping hand on Drax"s back, "I was a fool. All the anger, all the rage…it was just to cover my loss." Seeing the man"s pain, Groot silently placed his hand from the man"s back to his shoulder.
This tender moment was interrupted by Subject: 89P13, "Ooohh boo, hoo, hoooo. My wife and child are dead!" He mocked with a fake cry, Groot giving a dramatic gasp at the rac.o.o.n"s insensitivity, "Oh I don"t care if its mean, everybody"s got dead people! It"s no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way!"
Groot didn"t respond, simply glaring at his angry partner, his hand still on Drax"s shoulder. It was then that Naruto spoke, "The thing I"ve noticed in this galaxy, is that I don"t think there"s a single person who hasn"t lost somebody to this war in one form or another. I knew a man like you, someone who had lost his whole family to a single man. His quest for vengeance drove him towards a dark path, a path I could barely save him from."
Drax seemed to have finally noticed Naruto"s presence, the man looking over at the strange man curiously, "Did he ever get his revenge?" Drax asked.
The blonde nodded, "He did." Seeing the satisfied look on Drax"s face he continued, "But by then the need for redemption had swallowed him whole. Killing the one that killed his family wasn"t enough. After that it was the man who gave the order, and then eventually the people that allowed that man to exist, until eventually his mission was to kill every man, woman, child of my village." Getting up from his kneeling position, Naruto finished, "I can see that you"re treading on the same path."
Taking his hand, Drax allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet, "So, you would have me forget about the injustice brought upon my family?" He asked incredulously.
Naruto shook his head, "No…but don"t allow that injustice to consume you. Move on. And should the opportunity arise for you to kill the man that killed you family? Well, I"ll leave that decision up to you."
"This speech is very moving and all," Subject: 89P13 said, interrupting Drax before he could respond, "but who the f.u.c.king h.e.l.l are you?!"
Looking down at the rac.o.o.n, Naruto smirked, "Me? Name"s Naruto Uzumaki." Extending a hand out he said, "Nice to meet you Subject: 89P13."
Naruto was forced to withdraw his hand as the talking rodent took a quick bite at his fingers. Bearing his teeth, the rac.o.o.n practically screamed, "What"d you call me?!" He didn"t allow the blonde to answer, jumping up to attack him only to be caught by Groot"s extended roots that sprouted form his hands.
Holding back his volatile partner, Groot said with strength in his voice, "I am Groot!"
"You heard what he called me!" The rac.o.o.n argued, obviously understanding what the walking tree meant, "n.o.body calls me that anymore! n.o.bODY!" Reaching out with his paws, he tried to swipe at Naruto, only to fail considering he was a good five feet away, "My name is Rocket, you understand? Rocket!"
"Alright, alright jeez!" Naruto yelled, raising his hands up in surrender, "I didn"t know!"
Giving a short growl, Rocket glared over at the man before scowling. Hocking a loogy at the ground, he said, "You can let me go now Groot, I"m done." Nodding, the tree man let his friend down to his feet, the little critter dusting off his vest as he did, "Now, I"m only gonna ask one more time. Who. The h.e.l.l. Are you?"
"And like I said before, the name"s Naruto Uzumaki, and I"m here for the orb." He said with a wide smile.
His answer caused Rocket to snort in amus.e.m.e.nt, "Yeah well, good luck with that. The stone got s.n.a.t.c.hed up by Ronan and his goons." Looking over at Drax and Groot he continued, "The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe, we"ll be able to live full lives before that whack-job ever gets there."
This wait got Naruto"s attention, "Wait, what stone? I thought it was an orb?"
Rocket waved his hands at his impatiently, "Look, you"re a little slow on the uptake, so why don"t you just scuttle on back to wherever it is you came from." After a second, a thought seemed to dawn on the rac.o.o.n, "Wait a sec…did you say Naruto Uzumaki? As in the guy who ended the freaking war? As the guy they call a freaking Celestial? As in the guy who they say is a freaking walking natural disaster? That Naruto Uzumaki?" Seeing Naruto give an embarra.s.sed nod, he took several steps back to keep him from falling on his a.s.s, "Holy s.h.i.t. And you"re looking for an Infinity Stone? What the h.e.l.l do you need that for?!" He asked dramatically.
"Hold on…the orb is an Infinity Stone?" Naruto asked.
Groot decided to answer, "I am Groot."
Seeing Naruto"s confusion, Rocket clarified, "That means yes."
"Jackpot!"
"Jackpot!" Naruto and Kurama both thought/said at the same time.
It then dawned on Naruto, "So that means…that Ronan the Accuser, one of the most infamous men in the universe, now has an Infinity Stone…"
"Exactly, which is why we should all just get the h.e.l.l out of dodge-"
"Which is why we should get it back." Naruto said, giving Rocket a hard stare.
Said rac.o.o.n gave a flabbergasted look, "Are you freaking crazy?! Ronan has an army and the stone, I"m not dying for "
"I am Groot."
Rocket looked over at his partner, shaking his head weakly as he said, "Yeah, I know that Quill and Gamora still need our help-"
"I am…Groot."
I know they"re the best friends we"ve ever had, but their surrounded by an army of Ravagers and there"s only two of us!" Rocket tried to argue, obviously not wanting to be a part of a suicide mission.
"No, you don"t." Walking over to Groot, Drax rested his hand on the walking tree"s shoulder, mirroring Groot"s action just moments ago, "You have three."
Stepping forward, Naruto said, "Four, if it"ll help us get the Stone."
Growling in what appeared to be pure rage and annoyance, Rocket balled his fists up and raised them, seemingly doing his best not to outwardly explode on the trio in front of him. Incapable of holding it in, the rac.o.o.n finally let out his anger, kicking a patch of gra.s.s as he screamed, "You"re makin"…me…beat up…GRa.s.s!" With each pause was another kick, blades of gra.s.s and clumps of dirt flying with each one.
Taking several harsh yet calming breaths, Rocket finally collected himself. Straightening his vest, he looked over to the trio in front of him, "Alright, if we"re gonna do this, we do it my way."
Shrugging, Naruto said, "Sure, why not?"
"I am Groot." Groot said with a nod.
"Good." Rocket said, a vicious smirk rolling across his face, "Cause I"ve gotta plan."