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“Things were getting too strange, okay? There were two of Nebula. And no, I have no idea how that was possible. All I know is I was suddenly more scared of staying than of what Thanos did to defectors.”
“But if it was a portal they can come right back through it...” says the Kree.
And that’s it. That’s as far as he gets before I slap him. Hard. Never thinking about what it is I’m doing and to whom. Never really thinking about the fact that I might be signing my death warrant with that single action. That the next thing out of him will be an accusation and that would be it for me…
“They’re not coming back,” I say in a shaky voice as Ronan stares me down. “He can’t be back. Don’t ever say that again.”
My voice is so strained it’s unrecognizable but somehow I find I can stand my ground all the same. As the Kree fanatic watches at me with the strangest mix of amazement and fury I am not looking away.
Yes, he’s scary. Yes, he’s the immediate threat, he’s the one who can close his fingers around my neck in the next heartbeat, kill me where I stand for my insolence – and yet the idea of Thanos coming back, of that horrible, dark behemoth of a ship returning to our world is far more terrifying than Ronan can hope to be.
“I will forgive this,” he tells me eventually.
“You will?” I say, feeling like this would be a good time to take a step back. Because I did great just now but this…? I didn’t trust this. Men like him say things like that only when they want to give you hope. Only when they want you to believe you’re safe – so they can strip that safety away with the next deliberately cruel thing they do.
“You are not under my command and so it is not my right to accuse you of disobedience. Only Thanos can do that. And he might never come back to do so,” he adds, seeing the same anger that made me slap him rising in my eyes.
Seeing that ship disappear through the portal was the first time in years I felt anything like peace and the idea of them coming back, of all those unspeakable, horrible beings that actually believed in Thanos’s cause… No. They were not going to come back. They couldn’t…
“What?” I say, realizing he just spoke. And what he said made no sense.
“You’re free to go,” he repeats a touch annoyed.
“I don’t think I heard that word in years. Free,” I tell him before he has the chance to ask. “Do you know how people like me end up on that ship? Slaughtering half our worlds isn’t enough, not if we dare put up a resistance… He’ll take half of whatever is left if you dare do that. Makes us serve his cause. As a penance for daring to want to live. I’m not free to go anywhere. What do you imagine I’ll find when I reach my homeworld again…?”
If I even know the way anymore, I don’t bother to add. Because does the Kree care? He wanted information from me and that is what he got and now I’m as disposable to him as I ever was to Thanos and…
And I was tired of feeling like my life was worth losing, I really was. It was so hard to make myself believe that I could in fact abandon the ship – so hard that I almost ended up going through the portal with the rest of them. To destroy whatever world there was to destroy on the other side.
So yeah, time to go. Before he decided that, on second thought he could use a trained soldier while going on a killing spree through yet more Xandarian colonies. Which was literally all there was on the agenda. So, yeah, I really was better of off this ship…
…
“This doesn’t really add up,” is the first thing I say on hearing the news.
“Were you not told you are free to leave?”
“Yes, but… You’re a little too high in the hierarchy to be my personal pilot,” I comment. Then, frowning, I realize, “Unless you were headed for Knowhere anyway. Yeah. Yeah that makes sense.”
Korath doesn’t reply, just heads for his ship, never doubting I’ll follow. Which is fair. I’ve spent all of two hours on the Dark Aster and that would be two hours too many. I’d definitely be better off literally anywhere else in the galaxy…
“So I have questions,” I start taking a seat in the front of the ship.
He gives me a look that tells me they will not be answered and turns his attention back to the controls.
“Is there anything I need to know about it? Knowhere? Because, you know, I’ve never been. And now I might just be relocating there permanently,” I say, watching him run through preflight checks. “I mean that is the plan, isn’t it? You just drop me off. Never think of me again.”
“That is the plan,” he replies tonelessly as the ship takes off.
…
“We there yet?” I say blurrily when I feel him shake me awake. Because I did doze off while being flown through space by a terrorist. Yeah. That… happened…
“We are there, yes,” comments the Kree. I let out a breath, hearing the subtext immediately.
“What do you need me to do?”
“I didn’t say I…”
“No, but I’m not just free to go am I…?”
Well, at least he doesn’t lie to me, I’ll give him that much. “It would be better for everyone if The Collector believed Thanos was in possession of the Power Stone when his fleet passed through the portal,” he says. I frown, taking my time following that logic.
“Right. Because it’s not like he’s going to go mental when he realizes he can’t get a full set,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And maybe killing the messenger bringing him those awesome news.”
“He will cease his search then,” continues Korath as though he hasn’t heard a word I just said. “Which means he’ll…”
“Not interfere with you psychos looking for the things…? Oh what?” I say, replying to his amazed expression. “Yeah, like Ronan wouldn’t want that kind of unlimited freaking power. You people are full on villains, that makes predicting what you’ll do incredibly easy.”
He just looks at me, clearly not liking that he can’t argue with anything I just said. Then, just for a moment, an expression that is not dissimilar to a smile appears on his face. “Why did he let you go?”
“What?”
“Why would a villain let you go free?”
“I… have no damn clue. And no. No. You can’t just walk away in a middle of a conversation after saying something like that,” I say, struggling with my seatbelt because that is exactly what he have done. He’s exiting the ship by the time I catch up with him. “What the hell man. You know something. You can’t just…”
“I can,” he says only but I see it now. He’s messing with me on purpose.
“Okay. So maybe no one is all villain all the time and everyone is just… a person underneath all that gratuitous malice. I get the message. Now tell me why Ronan let me go after I…”
“Will you lie to the Collector?”
“I will lie to anyone, just tell me. Because this is good, I can tell. All over your face, seriously. You are so I’ve got a juicy piece of space gossip…”
He stops then, turns to me and, yes, he is almost smiling now and I should probably brace myself because if this guy thinks whatever he’s about to say is funny…
“He was glad to hear the fleet was gone.”
“Weren’t we all…?” I roll my eyes.
“But not as glad as he was to hear that Nebula was aboard when they flew through the portal.”
“Two Nebula’s,” I say almost involuntarily. Then mentally replay what he just said. How he said it. “No…”
“He was finding her quite the distraction.”
“Shut… up…” I say, feeling my eyes grow bigger as the implications hit me. “But… that’s his boss’s daughter. Who could kill him in so many awesome ways…” I say and wonder if I’ll ever be able to stop grinning.
“You brought him very good news,” comments Korath. “That’s why you got to keep your life.”
“I mean… I tell him a gorgeous killing machine is out of his life, quite possibly forever and he considers that good news?” I blink. “What exactly is wrong with him…?”
“He didn’t need the distraction,” shrugs Korath.
“Right. He’d rather be all gratuitously evil all the time. Wow. This is my problem with you people in a nutshell. When in doubt do the exact opposite of what any reasonable person would do. I mean he is genuinely glad about this, isn’t he? That now he gets to spend the rest of his life going on ultimately pointless killing sprees undistracted. I tell him the perfect combo of hot and deadly is out of his life and he’s goddamn relieved…” I shake my head. “Just…”
“Wouldn’t you be…?” he frowns.
“No. No one would. See most of us have the exact opposite problem. Life is better with tempting people around,” I say. Then realize who I’m trying to explain this to and just give up. “Let’s just go see the Collector. So I can lie to his face. Because since I already slapped Ronan the freaking Accuser and got away with that I’m probably… like, immortal.”
“I doubt that very much.”
“Oh, you’re just jealous…” I smirk.
…
“Gone. Through a portal. I’ve never seen anything like it…”
“I’ve already been told this,” says Tivan never looking up from some kind of super rare trinket he’s examining.
“By someone who’s been on the ship? Only got out seconds before they went through...?”
Now that gets his attention. And I spend the following ten minutes getting cross-examined on every goddamn detail of the last few days of my life because, yeah, suddenly he needs to know everything.
“And you’re certain the Power Stone was aboard?”
“Look, didn’t see it myself but the Maw would not shut up about it,” I tell him, not for the first time. This time, though, it clearly gets to him. He looks… fucking desolated, really. I almost feel like giving him a hug there and then.
“Master…?” says the Krylorian girl in a tiny, tiny dress who’s been loitering around the place.
“I wouldn’t. You probably shouldn’t be around him right now, sweetie. He’s… in a dark place…” I say, my voice trailing out. Because I’m doing it again, I can tell. It’s like slapping Ronan all over again. It’s involuntary and I couldn’t have stopped myself if I tried and…
And I do hug him. Because, yeah, I’m that idiot. Because me being alive and no longer following the mad titan’s orders was so improbable it made me want to spend the rest of my life, however much was left, not being the actual worst. I was going to spend it asking myself what would Thanos do? and then doing the exact opposite. Which apparently makes me someone who can be stupidly nice. Even to people who absolutely do not deserve it.
“All that beauty…” I hear him say in a broken voice.
“That’s actually why you wanted them, isn’t it?” I realize, stepping back so I can look up into his face. “You didn’t want the power. Just… something beautifully unique.”
“Does that make a difference? I’m never going to possess them now,” he replies.
“I know. I’m sorry,” I whisper as I put my arms around him again. “But that’s the kind of galaxy we live in, you know. Everyone is getting a terrible deal. Even without Thanos to worry about we are guaranteed to have a horrible time of it. It’s all… rigged…”
“Is she alright?” I hear the Kylorian girl ask Korath and she currently sounds more worried for me than she ever did for her master.
“I don’t think she is, no,” replies the Kree. “But she’s your problem now.”
“Have fun being the actual worst,” I call after him as he goes. “You know, one of these days Nova Corp will come down on those psychos and I’ll have so much fun watching their trials…”
“What was your association with them again?” asks Tivan as he steps back, breaking off the hug.
“They found me floating through space, running out of oxygen,” I shrug. “And now they probably have to wreck a few colonies to make up for that accidental act of kindness. Villains gotta villain…”
“You have a very strange attitude,” he says narrowing his eyes at me.
“I know. I think it might be a side effect of several near death experiences in a row. Ronan said something along the lines of but how do we know Thanos won’t be back and I slapped him. And no, I don’t know how I’m still alive,” I say, shaking my head in amazement, not for the first time. “I guess I’m just… lucky.”
“That’s not a bad thing to be,” comments the Collector.
And I have to grin – not just because he’s absolutely right but because I know what’s about to happen. He’s going to offer me a job, one that might or might not come with a very problematic uniform. And I’m going to take it, too. Because as it turns out I do want to be able to keep on surviving. I really do.
I had very little investment in my personal narrative up to this point, I’d be the first one to admit that. But that was before. That was when I lived in a galaxy that had Thanos in it and who would feel like sticking around to see how that turned out. But now that he was gone…? Yeah, I did want to see how this goes. Something told me it will be one hell of a story.