7490/Thanos in Hyperspace when the Quasar Fell (II)

Thanos in Hyperspace when the Quasar Fell (II)
Date of Scene:	22 August 2021
Location:	Hyperspace
Synopsis:	The crew of the Milano with friends attempt to take out Thanos once and for all. Things do not go as planned. The Black Order are not an easy fight, though some fall. Thanos, however, has mastered Hyperspace energy and brings the battle to Phyla-Vell, evaporating her. The crew of the Milano manage to escape and are headed to Half-World with Rocket in stasis on the verge of death. Somehow, Mantis cheated death entirely, which is only fair since Black Swan did the same thing. The quantum bands found a new worthy wearer: Ava.
Cast of Characters:	Nebula, Gamora, Rocket, Vance Astro, Ava Starr

---

Nebula has posed:
    Hyperspace is not a place one goes for a casual visit. Staying here requires a huge amount of power. How it is Thanos parked The Sanctuary II here is a technology lost to the ages, somehow acquired by him. He's been hiding here for years now - sending out the Q-ships on missions to find the Infinity Stones.

    The Milano found where he was hiding thanks to a bug Phyla-Vell placed on Nebula. Nebula may have found it, but for some reason didn't raise the alarm. Some part of her still loathes Thanos, deep down in her core.

    The problem with invading Sanctuary II isn't just Thanos - it's the Black Order. The brothers and sisters of Gamora and Nebula. Those chosen by Thanos for their extraordinary talents and potential to be his family.

    The eerie glow of hyperspace surrounds them as they prepare their final preparations. Sanctuary II is looming closer in the distance and the device Phyla installed, Kree military technology, has cloaked them from sensors on their approach.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora hasn't said a word since they started the real approach. She's largely just been white-knuckle gripping her scabard and staring intensely at the viewscreen when she's not working her instruments. A big part of her wanted to go with the other team. To confront her Father. To look at him with new eyes now that she sees what he is. But she couldn't. With Nebula's future on the line, Gamora can't leave that to other people and hope for the best. Not after all of this.

    When the proper approach begins, Gamora begins to speak. "... The people you are about to meet are monsters. The best of them believe they're doing people a favor by taking their lives; the worst... simply delight in it. They will defend Thanos' home with a religious fervor. They are not afraid to die. Not so much as they fear Father's disappointment."

    Gamora takes a deep breath. "They are my brothers and sisters. I would very much appreciate it if you killed all of them... and brought Nebula home."

Rocket has posed:
"Yeah, Gamora?" Rocket asks as they begin their final approach as they've been filled in on some of what to be on the lookout for. "Then I ain't got a problem with killing whoever needs to be killed. I'm doing this for Nebula, and to stop Thanos, and I want to see how well these modifications I made on this thing do."

Unexpectedly, but maybe not for those who know him well, he's managed to get his grubby little hands on a minigun with a gatling barrel from Earth, only mentioning that he was out for a little fun and found it. Since then, he's worked on the thing in order to alter the ammo it takes. Rather than typical bullets, it now runs on energy-based ammo. And, it looks heavy.

He adds, "You know where they're keeping her, or are we gonna have to just tear through everyone we see?"

Vance Astro has posed:
    If they only had the Captain America II, or maybe his teammates. God, Vance missed having Martinex, Charlie, Nikki, the 31st century Yondu... hell, even Starhawk he'd welcome. Because that would mean that Aleta was here too.

    But one does not dwell on what they do not have. They work with what they -do- have. After fighting so many battles, so many wars, Vance is quiet at the approach. He is past the need for bravado-inducing speeches or such. He barely knows the warriors he is to fight alongside. Though his outfit has closed up, matte black with the white star on his chest. The bracer that generates his shield doublechecked.

    He is as ready as he can be. And finally, after Rocket speaks, he opens his own mouth. "Is we get a location, I am happy to take point. Your weapon would bewell used firing from behind my shield."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava has proven herself to be something of a quiet sort. She and Finley have largely taken to keeping out of the way, though that doesn't mean they haven't poked around on the ship to try to understand how things work. In Finley's case... it's the chronic curiosity of an insatiable engineer. In Ava's? She wants to know how best to survive this environment. Going invisible (and not having to stand perfectly still to do it) and intangible does have its advantages. But there's still the reality that space is a really frickin' unforgiving place. And she's basically signed on to what has been described as a suicided mission on a gamble that it's not... so she can maybe find a cure for her molecular disequalibrium... in space.

Yeah. She thinks she's crazy, too. She's just kinda sorry she dragged Fin into this mess in the meantime.

However, as they prepare to assault this ship and rescue Gamora's sister or kill her father (wow, talk about an effed up family dynamic), Ava has two concerns: Having enough firepower to get the job done and getting in and out in one piece. "What sort of energy detection does this thing have?" she asks as to their destination. "'Cause I can phase straight through pretty much any solid matter... and stay invisible while I do it." That could be an advantage, if they give the assassin the means to make those qualities useful. She just doesn't want to run into some sort of disruptor field along the way.

They hurt like hell.

Nebula has posed:
    Quill has one last parting gift as the The Sanctuary II looms closer and closer. Music, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNiTxUEnmKI begins to play out over the speakers. The ship enters one of the many docking bays and it is filled with Chitauri soldiers and Sakaaran, working on their glider bikes and fighter needles. They don't immediately react to the Milano's arrival. After all, who would be stupid enough to attack The Sanctuary II in hyperspace. Only a crazy person would do that. No one would dare come here without invitation.

    Ebony Maw peers at the sensor reading of a ship landing in the cargo bay 71. "It's probably nothing.. Corvus, go check it out." The big man himself, Corvus Glaive, picks up his mighty Glaive and shrugs his shoulders. "Sure, whatever." He trudges out to check on what's happening in that cargo bay.

Gamora has posed:
    Responding to Ava, Gamora says "Knowing them, I wouldn't risk phasing between rooms through walls. Objects inside may be safe. Do what you need to do."

    To Rocket's question, Gamora narrows her eyes, a dangerous tone in her voice as she answers, "... Make noise. She'll come to us."

    Then 'The Final Countdown' begins playing very loudly over the speakers.

    Without changing her stance or facial expression, in the exact same tone of voice, Gamora says: "God damn it, Peter."

    "We're here. Everyone be ready as soon as the hatch opens."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket gives Vance a brief look, taking in the rest of the help that's come with them. "Shields? Don't plan on needing 'em. Besides, I got a ride already. Check this out."

Groot advances, giving Rocket a hand up until he takes a spot at the shoulder, where Groot shapes a mount for the minigun to rest. "I am Groot?" he asks.

"Yeah, pal. We just turned you into a M.A.G. That's Mobile Assault Groot. Or Guardian. It works the same."

At that time, the music kicks in and he rolls his little eyes. "Wouldn't be the same without a song first. Who's ready to raise hell?" he asks, and the hatch begins to part. "Just what I was hoping for. Noise is one of the things we do best at," he finishes explaining to Gamora, and the barrel starts to spin up.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Activating his shield bracer, Vance lifts his left arm. The shield is circular, the same size as the one wielded by the Star Spangled Avenger. But this one is white and black rings with a white star in the center. Matching his bodysuit's basic coloration.

    It is also translucent, so one can see through it and target through it. But he places himself at the hatch, and as the music starts he grins. "Well. This should be interesting at least." he says... and he has limbered up, his body augmented in an odd way to be roughly the equivalent physically to the Super Soldier of the Avengers. He prepares to leap down the ladder and engage the oncoming troopers of the ship. I mean seriously... a handful planning to hold off the whole ship's company?

    He's gone into battle with crazier plans and worse odds. He just wishes he had folks with him who he knew as well as he knew his own team.

    He nods to Rocket then and shrugs. He has no weapon in his other hand. His weapon is his mind... and he charges out the moment there is space, trying to establish a foothold... psychokinetic blasts firing from his mind to topple multiples of oncoming troops.... positioned to hold the ground for the others to move into and spread out from. Also... he is kinda doing the, 'LOOK AT ME!' routine.

Ava Starr has posed:
Oh, Ava took a few moments to raid the armory in preparation for this shindig. She's not sure how reliable the weaponry she took is -- especially since they tell her it was made by a *racoon* (probably the biggest WTF moment she's had so far). But it beats the slug throwers she brought aboard. And Fin said they'll probably work.

She nods briefly to Gamora as the woman answers her question. And, as they get ready to disembark, she glances briefly to Finley and then sets her Ghost mask in place and pulls up her hood.

The song comes over the speakers and her head cants faintly. It's probably good the arch of her brow and wry grimace on her lips can't be seen past the face of her helm. What is it with this crew and eighties music? What's next? Dancing Queen. No, wait. That's seventies.

Close enough for a kid born on the cusp of the 90's.

Nebula has posed:
    Team Kill Thanos moves out first in to the cargo hanger bay. Their plan? take out anything that could raise an alarm. They swirl in to a blur of energy and combat as they engage the Sakaaran's and Chitauri. There's plenty for everybody as Vance is the first to engage them; but the other team seems to have a plan. Quickly, they move on from there and head deeper in to the ship heading straight for Thanos' throne room.

    Moments the tall form of Corvus Glaive enters and he stares at all the dead. As a master tactician and expert combat specialist he can tell immediately things have taken a strange strange turn indeed. But these interlopers? who are they to attack his home?

    The glaive is lifted up and he taps on his comms, "Best you lot get down to the cargo bay too before all the fun is _dead_." A twitch at the corner of his lips as he charges toward the Guardians.

    Back in the lounging area Ebony Maw raises an eyebrow, "You heard brother, there's battle to be had. Let us indulge ourselves." He rises and with him rises Proxima Midnight, Black Dwarf, and Nebula. He claps his hands, "chop chop." Proxima picks up her spear and shield, Black Dwarf picks up his axe, and Nebula gathers a wicked smile upon her face as she disappears in to the shadows.

Gamora has posed:
    "You've sentenced your bretheren to death, Corvus." Gamora calls from on board the ship, before dropping into view from the Milano, landing in a quick roll and landing on her feet, glaring at Corvus.

    "I suppose that's in character. We don't have time to waste on you, though, so let's make this quick."

    Gamora inclines her head, the sound of the spinning gunbarrels suddenly seeming more prominant. "Have you met my small friend?"

Rocket has posed:
"EAT HOT LIGHT!"

"I AM GROOT!"

As Rocket and Groot step out of the Milano, the gatling /laser/ begins spitting out hot fire around the bay, cutting through and taking down scores of enemies. A little nudge here and there from Rocket helps Groot with which way to turn and aim, and Rocket's laughter rises above the sounds of battle.

If Ava wondered as to the capabilities of 'the raccoon,' which he certainly isn't - just ask him! - some of those concerns are sure to be alleviated but now perhaps replaced by others as she sees them in action.

"Oh, it is /on!/" the little furry thing yells, his new toy proving to be very, very effective indeed.

Ava Starr has posed:
Since both Rocket and Quill are heading into the Sanctuary II to engage on foot, Finley has won the pleasure of flying the Milano for the rest of this encounter. She sits in the cockpit and turns to give a brief wave to Ava as she steps toward the ramp. "Have fun storming the castle," she tells her friend.

Ava snirks softly at the old movie reference and quips back, "It'll take a miracle..." That causes Fin to grin, despite the fact the truth of it also puts her heart in her throat.

Two steps forward, and Ava leaps to land lightly on the deck of the ship below. When they're all off the craft, Finely spins the Milano around and begins the first of many strafing runs.

The Ghost, however, is intangible before she ever leaves the Milano. Thus, when she lands and rolls forward to come up into a sniper's crouch, she's in no immediate danger of falling prey to whatever firepower is directed her way.

Her eyes scan the battlefield, trying to get the lay of it, the situational overlays within her helmet's HUD beginning to track enemies. She springs for a better vantage point, and starts shooting.

Nebula has posed:
    Corvus laughs as he sees Gamora, "The traitor returns. Father will be so pleased." The gatling laser though, that's a thing of beauty, even he can admit. He changes his trajectory to running side ways to avoid getting blasted to pieces and moves behind a solid looking structure to contemplate his move. Too bad for the various Chitauri that got in the way of that gatling gun though.

    He briefly enters his mind palace, where the tactician in him lies. The position of the Milano, the position of their troops. The tree, the rabbit, and the big gun. Gamora.. Gamora changes things. Over his communicator he warns, "Gamora is here."

    The effectiveness of the gatlin gun decreases immensely as Ebony Maw floats in to the hanger. His first point of order? that gun. Suddenly, it's energy bolts are flying out the front of the gun and pausing in the air in an orderly queue.

    Maw eyes Gamora, "Sister, so good to see you again." Proxima Midnight steps in to the room and twirls her spear above her head, ending with the point aimed at Gamora. It's not that the others aren't dangerous.. it's just _personal_ with Gamora. From behind her steps Black Dwarf, a giant with a giant axe. His grin spreads from ear to ear. "Fun. I think I'll cut me some wood," he says looking at Groot.

    Finley immediately puts Maw on the back foot though as his other hand lifts up and forms a protective shield over his allies when the Milano starts to rain energy fire upon them. A twitch at the corner of his mouth, "Get them."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora closes her eyes for a moment, despite the raucas around her. Somewhere along the line, the chaos brought by her new friends became somewhat... comforting.

    She can't let herself relax, though.

    Hours ago, on the Milano, Gamora made a point of speaking to the group that was going after Thanos, and anyone else who would listen. "... My Father can not fly. He can not read minds, or fire energyy from his eyes or fists. He doesn't wield magical powers." Gamora had told them. Her eyes had grown intense. "He doesn't need to. Thanos is *the* most dangerous person in the Galaxy. I don't care how strong you are, or what you think. His *presence* can stifle you with its pressure. When you face him... you can't hold anything back. You can't play around. You *can not* give him space. His death must be swift and unceremonious. You are there to *kill* him. That's *all* you are there to do."

    Gamora's eyes had closed slowly, and when she next spoke, her voice was softer, though no less tense. "... That's all you're there to do. I understand what my Father deserves. I understand... that he's hurt people here. But as wrong as he is... as... *horrible* as he's been... in his own sick way, it's all come from a place of compassion. It's real. It's not sane, but it's real. If the opportunity presents itself... please... *consider* not making him suffer needlessly."

    There had been a moment of silence. It had seemed Gamora was going to leave it there. But she had one more thing she... *really* needed to impress upon them. "But whatever else happens..."

    "Don't let him take you alive."

    In the present, Gamora takes a certain satisfaction in Corvus' flight, though her gaze is sharp with deadly focus as she watches Ebony Maw approach. "Brother. You look well. I-" Gamora's voice stops suddenly, when she sees Proxima step into view. Thanos had told her to teach Gamora and Nebula a lesson they wouldn't forget... and Gamora never did. She remembers screaming; long after her voice had given out on her. She remembers begging for the first time in her life. She remembers groveling when it was over. Gamora is no coward, but it had taken effort for the rest of her life not to fall silent in her presence, even after she took her place as Thanos' favored killer.

    Grimacing, Gamora instead tells everyone, "Kill Maw, first if you can." It's a compliment, in a way! "... Kill them all." She says before she fearlessly dashes towards her assembled enemies with an almost feral roar, and swings her blade.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket's laughter rains down like the laser fire he and Groot send out everywhere, providing cover for others and creating paths for them to advance. "Oh, look. It's the Black Order. Also known as Thanos' rejects," he calls toward them as Corvus Glaive is forced to take cover.

Ebony Maw, on the other hand, causes him to snarl when the laser bullets freeze in place. Not fun! "No fair, you ugly cheater. And you all look like hell, for that matter. I can see why Thanos keeps you around. You make him feel downright handsome."

"I am Groot!" Rocket's tree-like friend laughs at Black Dwarf, and Rocket is more than happy to translate. "What my pal here said is if it's wood you want, he'd be happy to let you choke on some."

However, they have no intention of letting the one with the axe get close enough to chop down any of Groot. Rocket tosses a grenade toward that one, and it will explode into a localized electricity-zapping charge. Groot tries to lash at Ebony Maw with his branches and vines.

Vance Astro has posed:
    It is funny how being a wild card can totally work in your favor. When folks look at whom they have to oppose them, they tend to write off the unknown in favor of reacting to what they think they already know.

    Vance can handle being a wild card. "I'm not here to kill." he mutters softly as he advances forward, using his shield in much the same way that his idol has done so. Blocking a strike here, smashing into a face there... and then he tosses the shield into the air... a solid light shield that has the semblence of mass. Why is mass important? Well let me tell you..

    When it increases its effective density to that of steel, and is then projected into a group of enemies by the means of a psychokinetic blast from Vance's mind, it tends to send troops flying like tenpins.

And then he maneuvers into position to doubleteam Ebony Maw with Groot and Rocket.. launching a pulse of psychokietic power into the beings face in an effort to distract him from what the disturbing duo is up to.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava has a nearly preternatural calm up on her perch. That happens when you know it's exceptionally difficult for you to be hit. She varies the timing of her shots since each pull of the trigger requires a brief flicker of tangibility to allow the heavy plasma her suped up sniper rifle spits forth to actually exist in the material plane and not the quantum realm. She'd hate for the badguys to actually catch on to that fact, after all.

Watching the attention given to Gamora, she gives a small smile behind her red-eyed mask. It's always helpful when a single distraction takes so many people's attention. She sights down the barrel of her rifle and starts aiming for the largest of the threats.

To her eye, that actually appears to be Maw. It's the whole telekinetic thing. That makes him their ranged fighter. And, apparently, their commander, as well. Always start at the top.

Nebula has posed:
    Team tactics 101... defend the Maw. Ebony Maw is not just one of the highest ranked of the black order but one of the most handy to keep conscious and fighting. The black order has learnt to fight around his needs and in some respects, obey his every whim on the battle field. Less so back home but out here where the fight matters, it's actually Corvus Glaive who calls the shots. The one that took cover and the team then focused all their attentions on Maw.. just like the black order expected they would.

    As the branches shoot out and Astro charges in, Black Dwarf steps in swinging that axe faster than it looks like he should. They are all super strong and super fast in the black order after all. The axe, specifically, attempts to cut those branches. He really wants to cut wood. Instead he gets a grenade to the torso. The explosion makes him stagger a moment and as he rises back up again he is bleeding. The fanatical look in his eyes is as Gamora warned - they will die for Thanos and Black Dwarf is no exception.

    Proxima Midnight smiles a moment and lifts an eyebrow to Gamora. They have a score to settle. She lifts her shield and starts running for Gamora directly with spear raised and ready to strike.

    Corvus Glaive moves out of cover and charges toward Vance to cut off his advance. The glaive swinging down extremely hard and when it misses, it twirls and is coming down again just as fast.

    It is Rocket, however, who gets the most special treatment. His arsenal of weaponry is effective once more as the Black Order moves as one. The floating energy bolts resume their path and blast in to empty space. And so it is Nebula, from the shadows, who launches in to a run and jump - a flying kick to the talking racoon to deperch him from Groot's shoulder.

    Why did Maw release the gatling gun? because a ghost just shot at him with plasma rounds. His now free hand swipes the bullets away to the side and his eyes start searchingly staring toward where Ava is. He can't quite see her - but he knows there is someone there. Somewhere. "Come out, come out, whom-ever you are..."

Gamora has posed:
    Sue her, Gamora isn't a tactician.

    She's a warrior, and a killer; and right now nearly all of her focus is on putting those skills to work as she closes the gap between her and Proxima. As the spear lunches towards her, Gamora pushes it up and away with her sword, the blade sparking with a loud scratching noise as it continues scraping along the length of Proxima's spear until Gamora is in close, where she pivots hard into a spin and swings her blade at Proxima's side with a sharp growl and a quick twirl.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Okay, he is engaged. But as far as Vance is concerned... the best way to win a fight like this is to focus as much power as possible on a single target. Breaking it down to individual fights is just a great way to lose.

    To put it bluntly, Vance is a leader and a tactician himself. Thus, as Corvus Glaive charges him, he lifts his shield to absorb the impact of the weapon. And then he shows that his reaction time and speed really is up to par. Ionic blood augmentations helped out there.

    Blocking and blocking and blocking, Vance set things up and maneuvers around until Corvus is between him and Ebony Maw. And his next move is set up to be a team play.... he lifts his shield to block a downward stroke.

    This puts him down low on one knee... and he fires a psychokinetic bolt at Ebony Maw's knee. If he can slow that guy down a bit... but he gives that blast all he has.. grunting with the effort before jumping back and rolling his left arm and shoulder. All of those impacts are wearing on him.

Ava Starr has posed:
Yeah, no. That's not how Ava plays. They call her Ghost for a reason. She likes the shadows. She likes striking from a hidden vantage. It's made her a very good assassin over the years. Good infiltrator and saboteur, too. But, right now, it's the assassination skills she's leaning on.

Invisibly, she rises and starts moving silently, swiftly finding another perch. Too many shots from one vantage point will reveal her. She's not ready for that, yet.

But when she finds her way to a new perch, she kneels, steadies her aim, and flickers long enough to fire another couple of rounds at the Maw.

She's not really made for going toe-to-toe with most of the rest of the Order, anyway.

Rocket has posed:
One moment, Rocket's eyes reflect the starting up of more laser fire once again.

The next, Nebula has knocked him off his perch atop Groot's shoulder. The alien from Planet X turns in confusion as the gun stops firing, but as Rocket lands and skids back a few feet, he waves at Groot. "Keep shooting! Just hold down the trigger!" Although Groot loses a few lengths of himself and it doesn't exactly feel good, he shifts the weapon into his own hands to go on the offensive again, his first target being Black Dwarf with Ebony Maw engaged by others. "I am Groooooot!"

As for Rocket, he scrambles back to his feet and lays eyes upon Nebula, tugging at part of his orange jumpsuit. "So there you are. I'll give you that one. Free shot. Nicely done. Gonna take more than that to slow me down." He comes up with a blaster that's much more his size, firing it close to Nebula, but not directly at her. "So why don't you snap out of it? I know you remember us. I think I even started to..hnnghh..like you. Ain't that wild? You and me, we ain't that much different, are we?"

Pew. Pew. Circle. Dart in with a feint. Hop back. He knows he can't overcome her with physicality. "The Guardians are where you belong, not with these Black Order freaks. So come on. Drop the charade."

Nebula has posed:
    Proxima's shield meets the infinitely sharp edge of Gamora's blade. Her smile grows wilder - in training they weren't ever allowed to kill; but now? here? Thanos will forgive, father hates traitors. Even if for some reason Gamora is still his favourite. He'll get over it.

    She kicks at Gamora, missing of course and sweeps her spear around, missing of course, but it's keeping Gamora at bay and she doesn't mind body checking Gamora with the shield to create a bit of space for that infinity sharp tip of the spear to take little stabby motions at her least favourite sister.

    Oddly, suddenly, Peter is playing music over the comms again right as the fight starts to really heat up 'You're the best.. arouuuund, nothing's every gunna keep you down'.. [1].

    The fancy moves by Vance keep Corvus working hard as he strikes and side steps, blocks, strikes again. He loses track of his positioning as suddenly he sees Vance take a shot at Ebony Maw. He scowls and kicks Vance to knock him back out of the way.

    Maw feels the intense pain shoot through his knee and he drops down to one leg. The shield above drops briefly as the Milano starts to blast the area around them, taking out more Chitauri and Sakaaran forces as they arrive. He lets out a cry of pain as he is shot a second time, this time Ava's shot hits him as he wasn't prepared to defend himself from another shot. A burning gash is cut across his face. It looks nasty. He lifts up a hand and changes the game, shielding only himself as he starts to hobble out of the hanger bay leaving his allies behind.

    The gatling gun is back in action as Black Dwarf charges in with axe raised high. He thinks he's got this - until suddenly he don't. The gatling roars in to fury and Black Dwarf's charge slowers to a walk, then a stumble, then he drops to the ground. Vibrant pink blood spreads out from beneath his body.

    Nebula tilts her head a moment as that music starts to play. Unlike the others, she picks up all the signals and she is still, technically, a member of the crew. She is tuned in. Her eyelashes flutter a moment at the sick 80s beats from Earth. A scowl spreads across her face from the music and Rocket deliberately missing her.

    "Idiot, that was your last mistake," she says.. about.. liking her? "This is my family, this is my home. Thanos is my father and god." Her lips twitch with anger just mentioning his name like that.

    She twirls and moves with him and then steps and twists his arm up, a fist coming down to strike Rocket in the mouth. As he stumbles back she draws out duel daggers and charges in at him. "Now die!" She moves with the grace and deadliness of the assassin she was meant to be - just like Gamora moves - but this time the target hits true. A cut there, a stab here, until she is on top of the tiny little furry and she is stabbing in to him again and again and again... until the stabs start to slow down and she stares down at what ruin she has wrought.

    The exposed cybernetic parts.. the words he chose. Friend. The Guardians are where she belongs. She _hates_ Thanos and this little furry thing.. her sister.. some people she's never seen before.. did they really come all this way to 'rescue' her? She drops the knives as the battle rages on around her and places her hands over the wounds, trying to keep the blood in.

    Her mind is in turmoil once more as she sees in him what father has done to her.. she visited upon Rocket the range meant for Thanos and now his life is in the balance. She cries out in anguish, a sound Gamora has heard many times before, as she just severely hurt the one person she had ever made a genuine unforced connection with.

Gamora has posed:
    Fighting Proxima Midnight is a frustrating experience, likely by design. As a woman used to swiftly cutting her opponents down, or battering down their defenses, being kept at bay, having the space controlled by her opponent, not being able to meaningfully damage the shield protecting them... it's vexing.

    All Gamora can do is press on. Evading jabs gracefully; deflecting the spear when she can without leaving herself too open to anything worse than a quick body check. In her physical condition, with her enhancements, the sweat beading on her brow is likely more from frustration than fatique... but she needs to focus. She knows she's the greater warrior. The only way she'll fail is by losing her...

    ... focus.

    "Nebula!" Gamora gasps with alarm when that all too familiar roar rings in her ears, her entire body siezing up with a moment of tension, before she begins to try to move towards the ship, her attention diverted and her movements ceased for too long and too critical a moment.

Vance Astro has posed:
    Okay, sometimes the best counter to a tactical maneuver is brute force. The kick sends Vance sprawling. He tumbles and ends up sliding along the floor atop his solid-light-shield. The shield turns off at his thumb control, and he turns his impact into a cartwheel kip-up.

    That maneuver has him turning and twisting, and then he hurls that shield in a familiar way, right towards Corvus's center-mass. A half second after that, he fires another pulse of power towards the same target's feet even as he surges forward to leap into the air... reforming the shield and turning to bring its edge down towards Corvus Glaive's body.

    That is when he hears the cry of anguish. That is certainly what the sound was. His aim is thrown off just a bit, his focus disrupted just in time for Corvus to roll out of the way and swat at him with that weapon... the strike taking him in the semi-armored abdomen and launching him across the room and into a wall.

    "Ow." he says as he drops to one knee and one foot... coughing up a bit of blood before rising once more. Into his comm, he says, "Team. Rocket is down. Med-Evac required. Ava. This might be a job for you.." before he turns and charges back into the fray. The longer he can keep Corvus occupied, the better for others.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava fires another shot as Maw falls to his knee. She frowns tightly when his shield flickers around him, keeping any more ranged attacks from reaching him. Her eyes dart over the battlefield again.

Fin's chewing up the scenery with the Milano's guns. Plasma bolts and fire cause havoc with sightlines and fluid motion across the field for most of them. The Guardians -- she more considers herself a freelancer along for the ride than one of them, at this point -- have engaged the melee fighters and one appears to actually have fallen. But the Maw is trying to exit stage right.

The racoon (no matter what he thinks) is down, but she's not sure he's out. She hears Vance's suggestion, but she's not convinced the ugly TK-weilder isn't going to come back with deadlier reinforcements. What's more, she's far enough behind the fight, now, that she can't make it to Rocket in good time. Especially not with the obstacles in her way.

The goal, Ava knows, is to rescue Nebula. She *thinks* that might be the bald blue woman screaming in the midst of everything. The one trying to cut down the racoon. She seems to be the one most conflicted, after all. And the one the others are paying most attention to. Thus, Ava can guess that the others are going to try to rally around her even as they try to take out the others. Or the others try to take out them.

In the end, Ava makes her decision. "Not in good position," she tells Vance as she slides down from her perch. She lands invisibly and rolls up into a run, going after the Maw. She's not sure how her quantum energy will react to his shield. But if anyone stands a chance of getting past it... it's her. Briefly, as she leaps to strike at him from behind with a grasping, clawed fist, she wonders if his heart is in the same place as a human's.

Guess she'll find out.

Rocket has posed:
Yes, somewhere along there, Rocket said something about Nebula being a friend. There had been things, moments where they seemed sympathetic to what they were going through, what they were dealing with, even if they didn't know very much about each other. Rocket never had a full crew to call his own, and with the Guardians he began to find that. He remained irascible as ever, but there were things that showed he was thinking of them in his own ways.

The trinkets others left behind as a part of moving forward through a puzzle? He brought them back, snuck them into the quarters of who they belonged to. They shared laughs together. Dined together. Drank together. Even did bad karaoke together.

But now Nebula was upon him with a punch. No big deal. It stung a bit, but he was made of tougher stuff now. She's in close, and that's where he doesn't want her to be. "Nebula, listen to me. We have to--" Only, she's upon him now, and those twin knives are tearing through his jumpsuit, jabbing into his arms, his legs, and he's caught on his back as he cries out, failing to bite back the pain. A few times, the blades catch and stick amid circuitry and metal, blended in with vital organs, flesh, muscle, and blood. Lots of blood, in fact. Scarring and metallic spots are revealed over his chest and back as his jumpsuit is torn open by the attack, and he gasps as a lung is pierced, another spot or two that suffers major trauma.

Nebula's hands aren't enough to staunch the bleeding from the state she's left Rocket in. He wheezes, groans, and his eyes take on a distant, dim look as the pain runs through his body. Nebula finds more parts of him where it's difficult to tell how much is organic or cybernetic. "I..th-thought.." he rasps, choking up some blood as it trickles out of the corner of his mouth. "You w-were my..f-friend.."

His breathing is shallow. He does not get up.

Groot finally notices, and he drops the minigun. "I am Groot? I am Groot!" His face displays confusion, concern, anger, and he does not know exactly what to do as he stares at Rocket and Nebula over him. Then, he races toward them fast as he can. "I AM GROOOOT!" Getting Nebula away from Rocket seems to be his primary goal. He must protect Rocket. He must keep Rocket safe.

It might be too late.

Nebula has posed:
    Midnight thrusts her spear in through Gamora's shoulder. It wasn't what she was aiming for, but Gamora kept moving.. until suddenly she didn't. Nebula crying out is not a sound she likes to hear either. Impaled upon the spear, even Proxima stops fighting for a moment to stare at her sister.

    A look of disgust crosses her face and she says exactly what Gamora knew should would. "Weak". A kick to Gamora's body to yank the spear back, she turns seeing Maw making a retreat.

    A ghostly figure launches through Maw's magical shield and plants a hand deep in to his chest. He looks down at it and then looks back to Ava, tilts his head. His heart was not there. A hand lifts up and he snaps his finger.. the hand is pushed out of his chest, becoming solid instead of phased and he snarls from the pain as it hits his brain. He shoves Ava back, "Retreat," he orders the black order.

    Corvus does not want to retreat, but with Black Dwarf down, Nebula having an existential crisis (again ugh) and Maw ordering the retreat he knows this battle is lost.. for now. There are others of the order, he will inform Thanos.

    Too much thinking, not enough action. His eyes come back to Vance and he points to his own eyes, then to Vance's, "I will be coming for you human." He hmphs and beats a retreat back down the hallway after Maw.

    Nebula cannot express her sadness and torment the way that humans do, or even Gamora does, with tears. She wails and gathers up Rocket in her arms. "Wake up," she demands of him irrationally. "I said wake up!," she shouts at him and panic starts to set in. Her head swivels around for an answer - the Milano is right there.

    Midnight does not like being surrounded, nor does she like Gamora or Nebula. She throws her spear at the back of Nebula's head and then runs for it down the hallway with Maw and Corvus.

Vance Astro has posed:
    In that split second before that spear would strike Nebula's head, the photonic shield intercepts its course and absorbs the impact before clattering away and dissipating.

    A second or so later, Vance does essentially a baseball slide and scoops up the spear in his own hand.

    He rises and turns towards the direction it came from... taking two steps and then hurling the thing with all of his strength, right back at Midnight. And then when the spear is halfway there, he sends a pulse of force to strike the spear and force it to move faster and harder. Hoping that will throw off defensive calculations.

    "Nebula right?" he asks over his shoulder, activating the shield on his arm once more, "Get him aboard the ship." and he himself is backing towards the Milano, limping a bit, but he'll heal. His shield is deployed and being used to block things incoming and to cover the withdrawal of the wounded.

Gamora has posed:
    "Nebula!" Gamora calls out as she begins to move. Her eyes go wide as she processes what she can see from her vantage point, crying out with considerable alarm,: "*Rocket!*" in the instant before a spear emerges from her shoulder.

    With a roar of pain, Gamora is driven to her knees as the spear embedded in her body angles downwards and pushes her forward. WShe clings to the bloody spear with one hand, while the other goes to the floor, quickly turning red in a pool of the blood running in rivulets down her arm.

    Damn it. God *damn* it, they got so far. They-

    They're *retreating?* Gamora gets maybe two seconds to process this, before the spear is painfully pulled back through her shoulder, and she's kicked forward, landing chest-down in a pool of red that paints her green skin and clothing. "Gnngg. Hnnnnn...!" she growls and gasps through clenched teeth as she forces herself to rise to her feet, hobbling for a moment as she clings to the gaping hole in her shoulders. There's nothing wrong with her *legs* though, and Gamora pushes through the pain quickly enough to rush back to the Milano, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

    The sight that greets her is... painful. In so very many ways, all at once. Standing behind her Sister, Gamora just weakly whispers, "Oh, Nebula..."

    Her head lowers slowly, her eyes closing... before she snaps back to attention, her eyes wide. With her good, bloody hand, she *grabs* Nebula's shoulder. "The Lower Decks. Bring him, quickly!" She orders hurriedly, marching forward into the ship. "There's all kinds of nonsense down here. Random items and... *trash* stolen by the Reavers." And, well, Quill, but that's not important right now. "I thought I saw..." increasingly flustered and desperate as she searches, she says, "... there *has* to be a stasis pod down here. Something!"

Rocket has posed:
Rocket's body trembles in Nebula's arms. He's going into shock, struggling for a good breath. Distant eyes blink up toward Nebula and he asks her, "L-Lylla..? My love, you're..h-here? How?" He must be hallucinating.

Who in the world is Lylla, and his love?

Then, he goes limp.

Nebula's hands are stained red along with whatever else of her that's come into contact with Rocket. As much as Groot wants to do something right now, much as he may want to attack Nebula and exact revenge on her, Gamora's talk of finding a stasis pod gives him a glimmer of hope and he rushes into the Milano as fast as they've ever seen him move. "I am Groot! I am Groot!" He looks back, gestures, points within. Hurry!

Ava Starr has posed:
Nope. Turns out Maw's heart isn't where a human's is. Ava stumbles back as she's pushed, his magic ejecting her from his body. She swears, flickering again into invisibility and intangibility. She's not sure if the Maw can see her or not in this state. She doesn't care. She's reaching for another weapon when he calls 'Retreat'.

Her head snaps around and, in short order, she sees both Corvus and Proxima bearing down (however reluctantly) on her position. She can also see that her own companions are regrouping, retreating toward the Milano.

Finley has brought the ship around and is lowering the hatch to give them entry. Tactically, Ava decides retreat is the better part of valour, even for her, in this instance.

She runs straight through Proxima, heedless of the other woman's form, pelting back the way she came. Becoming visible, though still intangible, she catches up to the others in their rush to get aboard the Milano.

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula stares at Vance, wondering who this humee is.. she has no time for _him_ or anything else. There's Rocket.. and the Milano, circling around. She goes to it and a foot kicks open up the suspended animation chamber. She lays him in and shuts it, turning it on. She turns swiftly at the sound of another voice.

    She looks rabid as she stares at Gamora and her fists rise up - she's not done fighting, she'll keep on fighting. Gamora is Thanos's daughter too, she is black order too, but also a guardian? "Look what you made me do!" she says blaming Gamora for the work of Thanos.

    But her chest heaves and it is clear she is not a hundred percent all there. She is crying; on the inside.

    Corvus turns as he retreats and catches Midnight's sphere even as the blast of energy speeds it up. He tosses it back to Midnight and the pair cover their retreat.

    Maw watches Ava disappear again, though this time he can see her. A small 'hmph' comes from his lips as he watches her run straight through Proxima. She is a problem, a problem he will have to deal with in the future no doubt.

    Ava is about half way back to the Milano when it happens. The crackle of quantum energy is so disorienting and intense. Which way is up, what even is up, as something in the universe shifts in a tangible way; something important. Something important has died... and now upon Ava's wrists are a matching pair of quantum bands.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora watches Groot with worry - both a sympathetic concern for what he must be feeling, and a practical concern over what he might do - before Nebula draws her attention away. Gamora's always had a healthy respect for now dangerous Nebula is, though she can't ever say she's ever really been *afraid* of her. Though now, even Gamora reflexively takes a step back when she sees the look in Nebula's eyes, needing to brace herself before she scowls, outrage flashing in her eyes as her good arm lashes out to slap Nebula across the face.

    Compared to what she's capable of, there's a pathetic lack of strength behind it. Gamora's body isn't keeping pace with her mind. "I will *not* be blamed for the madness Father pushes you to, or the sacrifices these people *still* think you're worth! If you had just trusted us, if you hadn't *thrown* yourself back into his... inndo his... jaws. *Claws*. His..."

Gamora's words become gradually more slurred and disjointed, and she finally begins to notice it around the time the room starts spinning. "Hisss... you... Oh." Gamora puts a hand on her copiously bleeding shoulder. "... oh right."

    Gamora begins to back up slowly and unsteadily. "... I'm... Groood'm... I'm sorry. Hillbee..." Gamora presses her back against a wall, and begins to slide down into a sitting position, leaving a streak of red smeared on the wall behind her, "... okay..."

    And Gamora's eyes close.

Vance Astro has posed:
    And so since Vance was doing rear guard for the retreat, his eyes go wide when the Quantum Bands choose their newest wielder. He's seen the bands on three different arms now. Granted, one of those was Norrin Rad in the thirty first century. So the order of him seeing them is a bit disjointed. Time travel sucks.

    He pauses at the bottom of the ramp of the Milano and calls out, "Ava! Come on!" as he lifts his shield to deflect any other incoming attacks while waiting for his friend to board the ship. "Figure out your new accessories later!" he adds.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket is loaded into the chamber and when it's activated, his vitals slow down to a state equivalent to one of hibernation. The display begins to detail a litany of injuries, blood loss, and so on, but it preserves him as-is...for now. The attention he needs is not something the Milano can provide.

Groot stares at this, looking at Rocket's face through the window display, sorrow in his expression before he turns toward Nebula and Gamora, asking them plaintively, "I am Groot?" His hands spread apart, and he tries to usher them together before Gamora slumps down as well from her spear wound, leaving him to check on her before he turns back to Nebula to wonder, "I am Groot?"

What are they to do?

Rocket's minigun sits on the ground outside, forgotten. It only saw use for one battle, but it was a good one. Perhaps someone on the right side will retrieve it. Perhaps it will be left behind.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava stumbles as the energy surges around her. She lets out a cry of disorientation and surprise -- very nearly fear. Indeed, the whole surge is far too much like a really bad quantum seizure and she finds herself almost certain her atoms are going to scatter themselves across the universe, no matter what she does. "FINLEY!" She calls out for the one person she thinks can help.

Eyes wide behind her mask, she can't really see anything, so dazzled by the energy she is. Vance's voice washes over her, hardly a blip against the roaring of the cosmos in her ears, in her blood. On hands and knees, she pulls into herself, forcing herself into the tangible, visible world. She hasn't even noticed the bands. Not yet.

But as the crackle of energy fades and she is able to focus again, pain and fear receiding, she draws in a heaving breath and throws herself to her feet, taking the last steps into the Milano at a dead run. She doesn't stop until she reaches the first solid surface and collapses against it, panting like a dog after a race. It's only then she realizes...

"Where's Phyla?"

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula slumps her shoulders as Gamora starts to lose it. She watches her sister fall back and those words hit her hard. That slap, smarts, right to the heart of it all. She knows she's meant to hate her, hate all of these people who would get in the way of fathers great plan.

    But father is also the one who mutilated her.. again, and again, and again. The body horror inflicted upon her doesn't just get better; it haunts her every moment with constant pain and reminds of his domination of her every life moment.

    She looks back to Rocket in the chamber, at the bloody exposed components.. someone did that to Rocket too. She should have realised. He is her friend. This is a victory for Nebula. Gamora can't keep fighting, she's lost... Nebula won, legitimately. But why does it feel so hollow?

    She sets her jaw a moment and stares at Vance, at Groot.. who she kind of understands.. then points at her sister, "Fix her." She turns on her heels and heads to the cockpit and sits in the other pilots chair, "Stop trying to fly this ship Terran," she demands of Finley with a look that broaches no argument. "We're going to Halfworld to save Rocket." ...just as soon as the rest of the crew are back. Even Peter.

Vance Astro has posed:
    With Ava on board, Vance comes up the ramp. He hears her inquire about Phyla. He didn't want her to ask that question yet. His total Nerdy-McNerdster for all things superhero finally bites him in the ass.

    "The Keeper told me that the bands stayed upon the wrists of a bearer until that bearer was dead. If they passed on to you...."

    He crouches before Ava and says, "They chose you because they believe in you. Just like I believe in you. Just like Phyla believed in you. We need to keep moving forward. What would Phyla want you to do?" he asks softly, a hand reaching for her shoulder. "You are the Protector of the Universe now."

Rocket has posed:
Groot tends to Gamora, which includes using some of the automated medbay functions. By the time Nebula's returned to the bridge, unimpeded, it's too late for him to hear her declare where they're going, but he will know soon enough.

In the meantime, he will keep a vigil over Rocket in stasis. It is the best he can do for his friend and crewmate.

The question of what to do about Nebula will come later.

Ava Starr has posed:
Finley is understandably skeptical about passing the controls over to Nebula. However, she's also not really equipped to fight a clearly very mean, very determined alien cyborg. Not to mention... she heard Ava's cry and saw the fireworks on the viewscreen. Sooooo... yes, she cedes control of the ship to Nebula. Y'all can sue her later. Doesn't matter. She's still leaving the cockpit to go check on her friend.

The flat look Ava gives Vance as she removes her mask is a far cry from careful patience she tried to cultivate back on Earth. "I'm the what now?" She snirks audibly and shrugs his hand from her shoulder, barking a harsh laugh. "Great. Then, just so you know, the Universe is fucked."

She turns, intending to retreat to her quantum chamber when Finley comes down from the cockpit. She stops, looks at the SWORD agent and lets out a rough chuff of air. "I'm fucked."

And she pushes past her to continue her retreat. Finley looks between her and Vance for a moment... and follows after her. Maybe she can help. You never know.

Nebula has posed:
    The other team makes their way back. Peter looks injured, Mantis is being carried by Carol. Drax has lost his daggers and his chance at killing Thanos... and Phyla-Vell is no where to be seen.

    Nebula stares a moment longer at Finley as she is stared back at, "Look somewhere else or I'll feed you to Drax." Drax ain't that bad, Finley knows this. But she's leaves to check on Ava anyway, problem solved for Nebula.

    A Hyperspace exit window opens and she pilots the Milano out, to Halfworld.

    To Be Continued.....