Ronan

"Man, if you call me an animal once again, I will show you why you don't mess with someone of higher intelligence." Rocket smirked, looking upward to glance at Groot as if to seek encouragement.

"You are the one who started arguing with me first." Quill's eyebrows joined into a straight line. "Why do you make it seem like I am the one at fault?"

"You are both unbelievable. I can't believe I got stuck in prison with such bums." Gamora sighed, quickening her pace and passing through the middle of them. Xandar soldiers monitored her, for she was the most dangerous of the group.

"Hey, where do you think you are going? Don't you remember our plan?" Rocket snorted, causing the Gamora to stop in her tracks. Eventually, she returned.

"If you can guarantee our escape, then I am going to divide the money with all of you," Gamora answered, though it was clear in her expression that such an outcome didn't excite her. Well, who cares?

"I already escaped from such prisons multiple times. It will be simple." Rocket reassured, grabbing onto Groot and making his way to the top. They have already been transported into Kyln and checked twice for any dangerous items, thus, now they were to be placed into cells.

Having a splendid view from the top, Rocket inspected the circling soldiers around them. "Still, it's strange to see so many officers being dispatched into one prison, even if it's Kyln," he noted, trying to search for any abnormalities.

Quill suddenly stopped, his eyes bulging as he glanced to the side. "Perhaps something extraordinary happened here," he mumbled, regarding the deep, as if made by the dog, cut on the alloy wall.

"Oh, this?" The soldier leading them to their cells spun around, his face containing the bitter sorrow. "A few days ago, a prisoner managed to escape... and this is basically the aftermath, together with hundreds of dead bodies."

"Hundreds? Was that prisoner a bear?" Rocket's hair rose up, imagining the gruesome scene. How much would that prisoner's head go for, though?

"No, he seeme-" The officer noticed his comrades giving him disappointed glances as he immediately turned serious. "I have talked too much already. We reached your cells."

"Wait...don't tell me we are going to be put into these?" Rocket stopped in his tracks, growing unsettled by even thought of having to step into this place. It was distinctive from other cells, though in a bad way. There was not a single window, no beds, not even a blanket to curl into...Could it even be called a proper cell?

"Isn't this place only for serial killers or federation enemies?" Gamora, though with some struggle, noticed Rocket's clear worry through his twitching eyebrow. Escaping from this place would definitely take much more time, and no one wanted to spend even a moment locked together with each other.

"The regular cells were destroyed during the recent escape." The officer explained, providing no further point. Unwillingly, but everyone stepped inside, followed by Rocket, who was cursing violently.

"Our escape may be delayed for some time." Rocket kicked the nearest wall, regretting it and puffing on his leg a few seconds later. The alloy door behind closed with a loud screech and the place was plunged into darkness.

Everyone dispersed around their chosen corners, not even saying a word. Groot boosted the morale by letting out a few fireflies to brighten up the place.

"Don't bother me until I come up with a plan." Rocket said, placing his hand against the chin. He then inspected each little dust, hoping to find at least some commodities.

Quill and Gamora presented no objections, not intruding with Rocket's work and hoping that he would form the escape plan quickly. They were wrong... really wrong.

Hour after hour passed until, eventually, it turned into days. Quill could still cope with his annoyance, though Gamora wasn't so patient. "Are you actually trying to find an escape from this damned cell or are you merely pretending to do something just to get a portion of money?!"

"You stupid green woman!" Rocket, who was sitting in a corner with his hands on the forehead, hissed angrily. "I have spent three whole days working my ass off while you were just sitting, doing nothing! Do you even understand how hard it is to get out of this hole when we have nothing but cotton clothes?!

"Working your ass off?" Gamora snorted, veins spreading across her palms. "All I saw you doing was touching and smelling the walls like some sort of psycho!"

"Hey, come on." Quill stepped into the conversation as all the angered eyes fell on him. "I understand you are bitter, but arguing will lead us to nothing."

The heat in the air calmed down a bit, and Rocket, encouraged by Groot, sighed. "I have a plan, though it may be hard to execute." Hearing this, the mood somewhat eased up.

"It's quite simple at the beginning but gets quite tricky later on. Basically-" Rocket was about to reveal his work of three days when a loud explosion sounded from behind the cage.

The smell of smoke flooded their vacancy through the little hole beneath the entrance, and electricity turned off, causing the path of escape to open automatically.

Quill reluctantly stepped out, yet he returned instantly, holding the door shut. "Guys, I think we have some problems," he said, breathing in a jittery.

"What happened?" All of them asked in sync. Except for Groot, of course.

-

Drax the Destroyer felt his heart fill with the desire to kill as his eyes landed on the approaching Kree soldiers. He paid no attention to them, focusing on the furthest ranks of the army instead.

There stood Ronan the Accuser, the killer of his family. Now that Drax saw Ronan face to face, he noted a similar look in his eyes like that of the red-haired man. However, his thoughts could be postponed for later, for he felt like he was getting choked by all this anger.

"I have finally found you!" Drax didn't even bother to hide his presence, speeding towards Ronan at the fullest potential of his body. The Kree soldiers stepped to block his way.

"Let him go through," Ronan ordered, not even turning around to face the approaching enemy. The soldiers obliged with no doubts, letting Drax pass through them.

"You will be the first one I am going to test my powers on." Ronan turned around and Drax suddenly stopped. Something has changed about Ronan since the last time he met him.

His eyes now gleamed with purple color and he had a unique stone, which gave off an intense feeling of terror, attached in the middle of his hammer.

Drax yet didn't understand that stopping was one of the worst mistakes he has made in his life. Extending his weapon towards Drax, Ronan launched a wave of purple force forth.

Placing his fists before his face, Drax prepared himself to greet the attack. However, it proved far more powerful than anticipated. Drax felt like hellfire itself descended upon him.

He tried to remain standing, or at least stay conscious, but it was all just trivial hope. The power stone's force melted Drax's insides with its destructive power, causing a quick, yet extremely painful death.

"Incredible." Ronan laughed loudly, seeing the aftermath of this one simple attack. The entire alloy wall behind Drax's lifeless body melted from the force.

-

"Was Ronan always this powerful?" Quill gulped, sticking out his head back into the cell where Gamora and Rocket stood with shocked expressions.

"No... he was definitely not that strong before. It's that stone in his hammer that excludes such dread." Gamora noted, her eyes suddenly dilating. No way...that sphere. "We have to stop him. We can never let him get close to Xandar."

"Shhh...be quiet if you don't want to die." Rocket reminded them, though Gamora didn't seem to be influenced by his words that much.

"You don't understand." Gamora's palms began to sweat uncontrollably as her breathing intensified. "I have heard of them before from Thanos... this is an infinity stone in his weapon. With this, Xandar will definitely crumble beneath Ronan's attacks and thousands of innocent people will die."

"I understand that it's dangerous, however, trying to fight him right now is pure idiocy since there are hundreds of his subordinates." Rocket whispered, scratching the top of his head with substantial force. "The least we could do right is to go inform the Xandar so that they can prepare to defend themselves."

Gamora thought for a moment, then nodded.

Groot just smiled.

Quill didn't think too much either, nodding without objections. "I thought you didn't like humans. How come you are so eager to help now."

"I hate guys like you, not the innocent civilians." Rocket retorted, crouching on the floor and explaining the plan of escape.

-

"Sir Tivan! I have some crucial information about the infinity stone you were seeking!" A person with artificially white hair, who was apparently another Tivan's apprentice, rushed into the hallway. Huffing, he scanned through the surroundings, yet still didn't find anyone present. "Tivan?"

"I would like to hear the information as well." The person heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the rear. He promptly spun, however, didn't expect to see a completely alien face.

"Who are you? Where is-" The person suddenly felt a sharp object penetrating through his thigh as his lips formed into a straight line. Fear was visible in his eyes.

"I am the one asking questions, understood?" Nagato asked, towering above the youth, who nodded with urgency. "Now tell me that crucial information."

"I wanted to inform Tivan that Ronan had already gained the stone and he has already begun his way towards Xandar." The person answered promptly, yet in the next instant, he felt his perception turning upside down.

Nagato frowned, cleaning his weapon with the sleeves of his fresh coat. He had spent three whole days dwelling in this place, doing practically nothing since Gamora never contacted or responded to his fake messages.

'I have to leave to Xandar fast.' Nagato didn't even bother to clean up the body, leaving the museum a moment later. He could never let the opportunity to acquire another stone slip away.