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Xandar[2014]
–Jack Sullivan–
THis was fun, actually. He could feel the light singes on his skin as the POwer STone's energy continued to graze his skin because of the lack of barriers between Ronan's warhammer and his skin but this was fun.
Firstly, the amount of energy that Ronan could handle was so pitiful that it could not even be compared to the one that was used to make those horrible purple fires back in the Colelctor's base.
Now, the fact that Ronan was still standing and swinging around that hammer, blow after blow, meant that Ronan was probably much stronger than Carina was but the fact remained.
The fires that had plagued Knowhere were a direct result of Carina actually dying while wielding the Stone. The small burns on his forearms that were actively healing were a result of someone actually wielding an Infinity Stone and not dying.
'I suppose he is not the strongest accuser of the Kree Empire for nothing, then' he thought to himself as he continued to throw hands with the Accuser, his army all but forgotten as a temporary lull occurred in the battle for the Power Stone as both sides watched him thrash Ronan the Accuser.
For the common observer, it might not have been obvious but for anyone who had a history of fighting, they would be able to deduce almost instantly that he was barely making an effort to actually fight, more focused on redirecting all his attacks and tiring him out.
And he was being successful at it as well, judging by the purple glow in Ronan's eyes dimming. Well, everyone has their limits and it would seem that Ronan just reached his.
Well, time for the finisher then.
With a thunderous uppercut, he launched Ronan a few feet in the air as a shockwave originated from the point of impact between Ronan's jaw and his fist.
He looked on, bemused as the Milano, the signature ship of the Guardians of the Galaxy jerked back from the formation formed around their fight and then aimed all its weapons at Ronan.
He could also feel the increased energy flow between the Warhammer and Ronan as he probably got ready to use all he had as a last ditch effort, either to kill everyone here or to destroy Xandar.
Both of which would be impossible because of one small thing. Connected to his feet was a huge barrier that had spread around like, completely undetected as it occupied an underground layer.
Ronan also had two really small barriers aimed at him from the ground, which would then act as really small bullets that would punch holes in his brain once he gave the order.
The amount of energy required to do something like blast a planet's crust to the point that it would crumble into itself was not something that a mere Kree like Ronan could ever handle.
Hell, even Thanos would find himself permanently injured if he tried something like that. Without the Infinity Gauntlet, that is.
Only a handful of energy attuned beings like probably Danvers, or maybe Odin in his prime could bring forth enough might out of the Power Stone so that it could be used to create a planet destroying blast, and then recover completely thereafter.
So, he watched on, uncaring as Ronan gathered more and more energy in his Warhammer, the purple glow surrounding the Warhammer increasing as a response.
He tilted out of the way at the last moment, as the Milano unloaded all of its weapons and ammunition onto Ronan. His eyes glowed as he let the barrage loose, punching holes through ROnan's skull repeatedly until there was probably nothing left of his face.
His senses told him of the energy signature of the Power Stone receding back into itself, almost becoming inert.
He watched as a dust cloud that had formed with a green barrier automatically forming in front of him to prevent the dust from staining his clothing, something he had swiped from the Collector.
They were apparently enchanted Dwarven clothing made from Dragonskin, and quenched with Light Eleven Tears, granting the clothing a plethora of abilities, up to and including never having to wash them…ever.
Oh, they could also change size, shape, and colour at the user's will whilst also acting as a conduit for any energy the user might have. It also was an excellent armour all around but well, him being who he was, there was not much need for armour for him.
It had all these features built into it and it is still stained on the outside. Sure, removing the stain was as simple as swiping it with a clean cloth with nothing ever getting inside the armour but could they not just make a stain free armour, in the first place?
Anywho, as he floated mid air, in a T-shirt and formal pants, cause he was funky like that, he waved his hand as the Warhammer, clad in green floated to his hand.
Apparently, that was not the right thing to do because, suddenly, he found himself on the receiving end of hundreds of little energy cannons installed on those Star shaped ships.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" He said as he turned around, the hammer floating a bit of a distance away from him, looking as unremarkable as it could despite having an Infinity Stone embedded into it.
He looked up to see the Dark Aster completely surrounded by the Nova Force. So, that ship was probably taken care of.
He wondered if he could just….take that ship as part of his compensation?
___xxx___
Probably not, he thought to himself as he, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy were escorted to meet the Nova Froce's boss, presumably Irani Rael herself, after confiscating the dangerous weapons, mainly the moon breaker in Milano and Ronan's Warhammer.
Well, he was somewhat excited to meet the legend of yesterday who was capable of throwing hands with people who were as, if not stronger than Thor as he was now.
That might not seem like an extraordinary thing when someone watches the events with the lens of the viewer because they are always exposed to the most extraordinary of characters, with the most powers.
In the wider universe, someone being able to even come close to Thor's powers meant that they could probably safeguard and rule a territory that was probably bigger than multiple Star clusters, effectively making them the ruler of space with billions of lives.
That was a big deal. So, Irani Rael was a big deal at some point. But now she is just an old relic, holding on so that she can fulfill her last duty and go out with a bang.
Wait?
What happened to her when Thanos came for the Power Stone? Was it even Thanos? Did his children come to collect the Power Stone and defeat her?
That can't be right. Even as weakened as she was, he could sense the sheer amount of Nova Energy, the same energy that was present in every single member of the Nova Force in small amounts, that was concentrated in her body.
She should be able to handle at least one of the members of the Black Order without much issue if the energy she is holding on to at the moment is being read correctly by his senses.
"Greetings, Nova Prime," He nodded calmly in greeting while the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy looked tense at the number of guards present in the meeting room with me.
Ah, they probably thought this was going to be some ambush or something.
Foolish criminals.
"Greetings, Green Guardian of Earth. I must thank you for saving Xandar from the Renegade Accuser. Even discounting today, Ronan has done much damage to the Xandar Empire. His loss will further strengthen our position in the negotiation for the peace treaty.
You have my utmost thanks for that," She actually bowed at him as he waved his hands in denial.
"There is no need for that. No need to think of me doing any of this for altruistic reasons. I was offered money for a job and I took it. Treat me as you would a common mercenary," He said before he watched Peter Quill make a fool of himself in front of Nova Prime as Peter probably felt obligated to say something right after he did.
"Uh, hey, Nova Prime, right? We did it, right? It was a tough fight but we made it safely out. Now, where is the reward for killing Ronan?
You did see it, right? I killed him, so I should get the reward, right? Hey! Why are you pulli–"
Thankfully, he was pulled back by Gamora who shut his mouth, Peter seemingly enjoying the act immensely.
"Now, ignoring that unfortunate dialogue, shall we move on to more comfortable areas?"
Nova Prime led all of them to a designated meeting room.
"Mr.Jack, I assume that you did not reach the COllector on your own. As such, along with the promised 1 billion units, we will provide you with the finest civilian class cruiser that we have at the moment. I assume you can defend your ship with ease?" Nova Prime offered him a small bracelet was handed to him by one of the attendants.
"That has your bank details. We took the liberty of making one for you when we came to know that you didn't have one. That is also the access key for your ship, which is waiting outside."
He nodded and straight away left the office, probably creating outrage among the employees at the perceived slight but he didn't feel any blaster fire so he took that as a win.
"Sorry, I must hurry home, you see. Chores to do and people to meet," He called out as he waved back at the Nova Prime. He turned around the corner, completely clueless as to where he was and where he had to go when he came face to face with the middle aged guy from before.
"Oh hey! Just the man I was looking for. See, can you–"
"Lost, are you? Don't worry, I was called to escort you. Follow me," THe man said, completely unphased by him as he turned around, leading him out of a veritable labyrinth of hallways, currently empty but probably housing many administrative employees when they were not under attack.
"Man, you guys must get lost all the time, huh?" He said as they came out of a small tunnel, right into a small landing pad on top of the building of Nova Prime.
Yeah, they really consider the Nova Force and the Nova Prime the cornerstone of their civilization, so most of the important things in this place were either named Nova or Nova Prime.
"You humans are all chatty. Now, there is your ship. Forgive for the rushed paint job but we were kind of on a time and labor crunch," The middle aged man, who was apparently named Dey, introduced him to his ride home.
It was….kind of ugly actually.
It was painted in a bright green colour, somewhat reminiscent of his barrier colour. 'Well, A for effort, I guess'
"Well…..Thanks, I guess," He shook hands with Dey before walking towards his ship.
As soon as he came within six feet of the ship, it made chiming noises the same as some earthen car would as a small ramp was extended from the side, right at him. Could it open ramps on all sides and open one where he was by detecting his exact position or was it all just a coincidence?
He shook his head, dismissing these extra thoughts as he entered the ship, the insides illuminating as he entered it. He saw the cockpit activating with some sort of manual ready for him to read through before starting the ship but before that…Ship Tour!
He turned around the cockpit and came face to face with a door. He slowly opened the door and saw a…living room.
Yeah, it was a pedestrian, if slightly older feeling regular Living room, all with the CRT and fireplace as well.
"Boy, they really do have a very outdated understanding of Earth, don't they?
He shook his head with a smile before heading back to the cockpit, finally ready to go home now.
He had saved the members of the Nova Force that would have needlessly died under the Warhammer of Ronan the Accuser.
He saved Xandar from being completely trashed by Ronan's ship. He saved Groot from having to sacrifice himself to save ROcket and the others.
He saved himself from the Collector.
He got himself a nice little war chest, filled with space money in case he ever gets bored of Earth.
He met Nova Prime and gauged her to be a very capable warrior, one that could help immensely in the fight against Thanos, should she live till that. Undoubtedly, he will make sure that, if she is supposed to go out with a last fight, she will go down fighting someone like Thanos and not the Black Order under Thanos.
He also got himself a spaceship, a passenger one but he didn't need a weaponised one anyway. He was more than enough weapon for the rest of the galaxy.
He acquired a legendary armour, one that Odin would probably demand back as soon as Heimdall informed him about it.
What more? Oh yeah, he also received a pretty comprehensive upgrade when it came to his powers. Oh, he couldn't wait to bash in some supervillain's face in with his new and upgraded Barriers.
Well, he patted himself mentally on the back for a fruitful trip as he entered Earth as his destination and let the autopilot take him back home.
He rested his head on the reclining chair of the captain and tried to think of anything that he could have missed.
And yet, none came to mind.
Then why did he feel as if he was missing something?
Something Important?
______xx_____
Back on Knowhere
Once Jack extinguished all the Infinity Stone enhanced fires, he left Kumpo and a small group of people to take care of the remaining living prisoners who were just now coming out of their pods.
Now, this was a good move on his part and everything should have gone well.
Alas, Fate was a heartless bitch and as such, the Realty STone enclosure was also destroyed by the purple fires.
Being a fragment of the Big Bang itself, the Reality Stone was not affected by the purple flames. No, all it did was create a hole in the floor, through which it fell and latched itself onto an unsuspecting Kumpo.
Apparently, the long lived Kumpo was a very suitable host for the Reality Stone as his being was invaded by an Infinity Stone, unknown to him or to Danvers who was going to drop him to a planet where he last met some of his other friends.
___xx___
"Man, he really left with a billion units. And what did we get?" Rocket said, frustrated as he threw a wrench into the floor.
"Hey, watch the carpet!"
"Bite me!" Rocket growled at Peter as he sat on top of Groot's shoulder.
"That f*cker walked off with a billion units and all we got was this crappy ship back."
"And we got our crime records cleared…"
"Yeah yeah, like I cared about them in the first place,"
As they bantered with each other, the now named Guardians of the Galaxy headed off to a new adventure…as a team.
Together.
Word Count - 2641
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