Xandar, after the banquet.
"My god!"
As soon as Star-Lord was invited onto the deck of the destiny, he was deeply shocked by the luxurious interior design:
"Wait, man, are you sure this is a spaceship and not some kind of mobile palace?"
Rocket Raccoon, currently carrying his gun, had his eyes practically glued to the energy conduits on the walls, his small face filled with greed—if he could steal some of this to sell, he'd definitely make a fortune.
Gamora gave him a cold look. "Don't touch anything. I'm telling you this for your own good."
"I know that, of course. I'm just admiring it."
Rocket reached out a paw toward a metal panel.
The next second, a mechanical arm extended from out of nowhere and lifted him into the air.
Rocket kicked his legs, clutching his paws. "Damn it! It dared to attack me!"
Peter walked over from ahead, leading Sif, not at all surprised by the scene.
"Friendly reminder: the destiny's security system doesn't much like thieves."
Rocket glared at him. "Who's a thief? This is an engineer's spirit of exploration!"
Star-Lord patted Rocket on the shoulder. "Brother, admit it. Your expression just now practically had 'I want to rob this place' written all over your face."
Drax nodded seriously. "His face is too small; it wouldn't fit that many words."
Groot spread his hands. "I am Groot!"
Sif looked at this group of idiots and couldn't help but turn back to ask, "Are you sure you want to take them with us?"
Peter smiled and said:
"Taking them along is much more efficient than us exploring aimlessly on our own."
As he spoke, he leaned close to her ear and whispered mysteriously,
"Believe it or not, as soon as I take them away, someone will come knocking to invite us to fight a giant octopus."
Sif raised an eyebrow. "A giant octopus?"
Just as she finished speaking, the communicator at Star-Lord's waist rang.
Star-Lord looked down, and his expression suddenly became strange.
Rocket immediately leaned in. "Who is it?"
Star-Lord read out: "High Priestess of the Sovereign, Ayesha."
Rocket snorted. "That gold-plated race of morons who make people kneel while they talk?"
Gamora reminded him, "Although their arrogance is repulsive, one must admit they are very generous."
As soon as she spoke, Star-Lord immediately connected the holographic communication.
A projection appeared before everyone, showing a woman with golden skin and a haughty posture sitting on a throne.
Her gaze first swept over Star-Lord and the others, and she said coldly:
"I heard from Yondu that you are a powerful mercenary team."
"The Sovereign's Anulax batteries are being plagued by an extraterrestrial creature."
"We need someone to clear it out."
Hearing 'Anulax batteries,' Rocket Raccoon's eyes lit up. "How much is the commission?"
Ayesha looked at him with innate contempt. "The reward will satisfy a lower lifeform such as yourself."
"Hey, sister, if you want to do business, you should offer a proper price upfront to persuade us. That's the rule," Star-Lord said as calmly as possible.
Ayesha gave him a haughty look and then turned the camera.
The projection then showed a bald girl with blue skin, half of whose body had been cybernetically modified.
"Nebula?!"
Gamora was startled and subconsciously grabbed Star-Lord's hand in excitement.
"Who's that?" Star-Lord couldn't help but ask.
Gamora replied, "My sister."
Rocket immediately raised a paw. "So the mission reward changed from money to trouble? I object!"
Drax, however, said seriously, "Family is important."
Groot also nodded. "I am Groot."
Star-Lord looked at Gamora, then at Peter. Seeing Peter nod, he decisively ignored Rocket's objection and said:
"We'll take the job."
Seeing Rocket about to jump up and hit his knees, he quickly added:
"But we want other compensation as well, at least this much!"
Ayesha maintained her look of disdain:
"Truly a bunch of low-class, inferior beings. I accept your terms."
With that, she abruptly cut off the transmission.
Everyone now had a target—the planet Sovereign.
...
After several jumps, the destiny arrived at the Sovereign energy mine.
Rows of golden buildings floated in space, and a matrix of Anulax batteries emitted a brilliant glow.
In the center of the matrix, a massive multi-tentacled monster was latched onto an energy port, devouring it ravenously.
Sif looked out the window and couldn't help but exclaim:
"It really is a giant octopus."
The Guardians didn't hear her muttering, each of them shouting as they jumped out of the ship.
Seeing this, Peter offered a smiling blessing:
"Good luck to you all."
Star-Lord froze. "You're not coming?"
"I'm in charge of watching the show."
Peter sat in the commander's seat. "Unless you can't handle it, I won't be making a move."
Rocket sneered. "Don't look down on us; we're professionals."
Ten minutes later.
Outside the energy platform, Star-Lord was swatted away by a tentacle, slamming into a golden shield and sliding down.
Drax was laughing maniacally while hugging a tentacle, only to be dragged around the platform three times.
Rocket's guns were firing happily, but every shot was just tickling the monster.
Gamora, on the other hand, was efficient, severing several tentacles in succession, but the monster's recovery speed was absurd.
Groot was responsible for plugging cables back in, his mouth constantly shouting, "I am Groot!"
Sif watched this comical scene and, after holding it in for a long time, finally couldn't resist: "You're really not going to help?"
Peter held a drink. "Don't worry, it's still early. They aren't as incompetent as you think."
Sure enough, everything that followed happened exactly like the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in Peter's mind.
Gamora successfully killed the giant octopus, and the Destroyer—that guy—emerged from the creature's body covered in slime, shouting:
"I killed it from the inside!"
Star-Lord couldn't help but complain:
"You clearly didn't do anything."
Afterward, everyone successfully met Nebula, and Rocket, predictably unable to stay out of trouble, stole the batteries.
A few minutes later, the destiny's alarms blared.
The Sovereign fleet rushed in from the distance, all cannons locking onto the destiny simultaneously.
Ayesha's projection appeared again, the haughtiness on her face replaced by fury.
"Lower lifeforms, how dare you steal the Sovereign's most precious Anulax batteries!"
Rocket immediately hid his backpack behind his back. "Slander! She's slandering me!"
Ayesha said coldly, "Hand over the batteries, and then accept your execution."
Star-Lord turned to look at Rocket. "You stole them?"
Rocket said righteously, "I did it to prevent them from stiffing us on the bill!"
Gamora yelled, "They already paid the bill!"
Rocket shouted, "Then it's a second charge!"
Peter leaned back in his chair, his smile growing wider.
Star-Lord looked at him in a breakdown. "Man, you're still laughing? They're about to turn us into space junk!"
Peter looked at the distant starry sky. "Don't panic."
Sif followed his gaze.
The Sovereign fleet's fire had already lit up.
But further away, a silver-white light streaked through the void, approaching the battlefield at high speed.
Peter stood up and patted Star-Lord on the shoulder.
"Your daddy's here~"
Star-Lord: ???
Why the personal attack? What did I ever do to you?
***************************
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