Although Loki claimed Korg was as good as dead, Felicia honestly didn't care much about it.
There was still a Mary Jane on Earth, after all. One more Red Wind Queen didn't make a difference.
Aliens probably thought about these things differently anyway.
Who knew who else might pop up later.
In short, beyond a little curiosity, Felicia had no particular feelings about Luma.
She wouldn't have minded getting to know her, but it seemed the woman was still recuperating.
Just as she was mulling it over, the fight in the arena ended. Peter and T'Challa teamed up to take down several dozen warriors, drawing a storm of cheers from the crowd.
Korg reckoned the two of them had what it took to become senior Plumbers, never realizing that Peter had already been a Plumber for quite some time.
As for Steve and the Winter Soldier, they didn't have Peter's boundless energy, and they had no taste for glory, so they hadn't even considered stepping into the ring.
Steve took a stroll around the royal capital and noticed that Sakaar wasn't necessarily all that wealthy.
Many areas were still under development, but compared to New York, the people living here seemed happier.
He felt that this was the beautiful future he had once yearned for, the one he'd fought to build.
A few hours later, everyone regrouped atop the Totem Tower.
By now, Rocket had gotten his hands on the huge sum of money Bant had promised him earlier, and he was so excited he practically wanted to swear an oath of brotherhood with Bant on the spot.
"From now on, the Heavenly Guild's business is my business. If I, Rocket, can do it, I won't say no!" Rocket thumped his chest. "Of course, the money's non-negotiable!"
A deep-pocketed planet like the Heavenly Guild, he figured, had a real future!
If he built a solid relationship now and then hogged all the jobs later, would he ever have to worry about money again?
No, working solo was too slow. Better to put together a little squad—that was the way to rake in real cash!
Rubbing his hands together like a greedy merchant, Rocket sank into his own fantasy.
Bant cut him off.
"Funny you should say that. We actually do have a job."
Rocket's head snapped up, his eyes practically morphing into credit signs.
He leaped onto the table, folded his arms, and declared grandly, "Lay it on me! Even if you want me to blow up a Chitauri mothership, I'm your guy!"
"Perfect. Then you'll blow up the Chitauri mothership."
Bant nodded and sealed the deal.
Rocket: ???
Now it was Rocket's turn to look dumbstruck.
"Say what?"
"What do you want me to do?"
Bant shot him a strange look and said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Blow up the Chitauri mothership. Wasn't that your own offer?"
"That was a figure of speech! A metaphor, you get that? Who the hell knew you lunatics actually want to blow up the damn mothership?!"
Rocket was livid.
Talking big was his specialty.
Like some keyboard warriors on certain websites, the Chitauri might be tough, but sorry, when I'm running my mouth, you ain't nothing.
Just gotta practice that trash talk!
But when it came to actually doing it? Yeah, no thanks.
Everyone said you just had to blow up the Chitauri mothership to beat them, but how many people could actually pull that off?
"I suggest you calm down," Rocket said. "The Chitauri aren't a walk in the park. If their locust-swarm mothership were so easy to blow up, their reputation across the universe wouldn't be so rotten."
You could say the Chitauri were universally despised. If taking them out were that simple, there wouldn't be so many planets they'd plundered.
"Not to mention, the one standing behind them is Thanos." Unlike Star-Lord, Rocket wasn't clueless.
He had far more intel and knew exactly how terrifying Thanos really was.
From Rocket's perspective, the Heavenly Guild only wanted to move against the Chitauri because they had no idea Thanos was backing them.
Drop the name Thanos, and Bant and the others would naturally drop the idea.
However...
"We're gunning for Thanos."
Felicia folded her arms and spoke.
Rocket froze.
He wasn't sure if his ears were broken, or if Felicia and the others' brains were.
"You're serious?"
Every single one of them nodded back at him.
"Thanos will slaughter you," Rocket said, shaking his head. "What a shame. I thought I'd found a long-term partner. Didn't think you'd all be dead so soon."
"Let's go, Groot."
Putting on a look of deep regret, he waved at Groot, who was hauling the money, signaling him to follow.
After a few steps, he turned back and said his goodbyes. "Don't worry, we'll remember you forever."
"Oh, and if you're willing to fork over another ten or twenty billion, I might—might—risk Thanos's attention to come visit your graves once a year."
"I am Groot."
Groot nodded earnestly.
Peter scratched his head. "Can I deck them?"
"Easy, Peter." Bant held back this little brother who was always itching to throw sand in people's eyes, then addressed Rocket.
"You've already been on Thanos's radar for a while now."
"Since when? How come I don't know?" Rocket twisted his face into a smirking "you're bluffing" expression, baring his teeth. "I've got zero history with that guy."
"Is that so?"
"Don't tell me that Kree warship you sold me was just something you stumbled across."
"What do Kree warships have to do with Thanos... wait, are you saying even the Kree have bent the knee to Thanos?"
Rocket's whole face crumpled.
In that moment, it felt like the sky was crashing down.
Since when did the Kree bow to Thanos?
One of the three great empires, and they just rolled over like that?
He was furious. He'd finally scraped together some real money, only to find out it was this hot to the touch.
Sure, if he gave up all the profits from selling the ship right now, he could wash his hands of it. But once the money was in hand, there was no damn way he was letting go.
"Once the job's done, another four billion. What do you say?"
Bant made his offer again.
Rocket steeled his heart, waved a tiny hand, and let the profanity fly.
"Damn it, I'm in!"
"They're just a bunch of brainless blue locusts! Watch me blow 'em all to hell!"
"But let's get one thing straight. If the situation turns ugly, I'm pulling out immediately," Rocket said.
Bant was offering a lot, sure, but he was a lone operator. No amount of cash was worth dying over.
"I am Groot?"
Groot made a confused sound, as if urging Rocket to back out.
"Retire?! That's four billion! What do you mean, retire?!"
"I'll still be in my prime hustle at ninety!"
And so, Rocket and Groot were assigned by Bant to destroy the Chitauri mothership.
Of course, Bant wasn't about to send just the two of them. Among the entire Guardians of the Galaxy, reliable members were in short supply.
Still, dealing with the Chitauri was the safest part of the coming battle.
So Bant added Felicia, Peter, and T'Challa to the team.
"What about us?"
Steve and Bucky asked.
"Right now, Thanos is headed for Xandar. No doubt he's planning to annihilate the Xandarians as his first offering after claiming the Power Stone," Bant said.
"You two and Kayla will go to Xandar. Even if every last Chitauri is wiped out, the Black Order and the Kree Accusers still make up a massive army. If we can establish cooperation with the Nova Corps, it'll ease the pressure on us considerably."
That was what he said, but Bant's real aim was to bring the Nova Corps under his control.
After all, Sakaar wasn't the one staring down annihilation.
If the Xandarians didn't give something up, why would anyone be kind-hearted enough to help them?
Steve and Bucky both nodded without objection. As for Kayla, it went without saying—she was practically Bant's right hand in everything.
They set off at once; the trip to Xandar couldn't wait.
Brunnhilde had already departed for the Andromeda Galaxy hours ago to try to forge an alliance with the Symbiotes.
Bill was still modifying the colossal warship. In preparation for facing Thanos, the Heavenly Guild had mobilized every Security Officer except Loki and Bant himself.
"Should I head to Asgard and round up some backup?" Loki asked.
Hearing this, Bant chuckled. "What, not worried your old man will tan your hide if you go home?"
Loki waved a hand, fearless.
Bant said, "No need for now. The Plumbers' numbers are already high enough."
This war wasn't just about defeating Thanos; it was also about making the Heavenly Guild's name resound. Having too many Asgardians involved wouldn't look right, and besides, according to the Crab-Shell Wiseman's calculations, their current forces were sufficient.
The Black Order wasn't actually that numerous, and Ronan's Accusers were even fewer. As long as the Chitauri were completely exterminated, sheer numbers wouldn't be the problem.
"Thanos himself is the real enemy."
Hearing this, Loki nodded, accepting the assessment.
Then he asked, curiously, "What was that about the gem Steve Rogers mentioned? Didn't you already bring back the Power Stone? Has a new gem appeared?"
"That," Bant said with a faint smile, "the gem in Thanos's hand is actually a fake. It only temporarily stored the essence of power's law, and it'll lose all its magic soon enough."
"Now that's something," Loki said, surprised. "I imagine the look on his face will be priceless."
At first, he'd thought Thanos really had gotten his hands on a stone.
If that were the case, it would've been a little troublesome.
But now that he knew the truth, Loki wasn't worried at all.
Thanos might be powerful, but with not a single real stone in his grasp, what could he possibly use to stand against the Heavenly Guild?
In terms of raw strength, Bant alone was his equal, and under Bant's command were warriors like Kayla, Brunnhilde, and Bill.
Throw in Loki and Luma, and wasn't that practically a new, improved Black Order?
A loner like Thanos truly was no match for the Heavenly Guild.
After that, Bant made his way to the holding cells.
They weren't exactly prison cells, but three people were being kept there: Nebula, Gamora, and Star-Lord.
His target was—Star-Lord's genetic material.
/-\
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