Chapter 243

"Guys, how are things on your end?" Monica asked through the communicator.

A new necklace had been added to her outfit, which had a striking purple gem inside.

"We're not done yet, there are too many soldiers inside here," Peter said. In the background, many gunshots and explosions could be heard.

"How's it going on your end?" Gamora quickly asked. Ultimately, everything depended on Monica. Even if they won on their end, Ronan could still end them all afterward.

"Don't worry, I already took care of Ronan," Monica said as she headed toward the group.

"So fast?" Gamora asked in surprise. It seemed like she really needed to reevaluate how strong Monica and therefore Damian were.

"I didn't need to defeat him, just destroy the weapon that held the stone, and the rest was easy," Monica said casually.

If Ronan had been more attentive and hadn't stayed still thinking he was invincible, perhaps it wouldn't have been so easy.

Her weapon was quite fragile; clearly, it wasn't designed for an Infinity Stone.

Following the sounds of gunfire, Monica quickly joined the others.

Her familiars, who were following behind her, quickly launched themselves at the Sakarians in the room.

Explosions, gusts of wind, small tsunamis, and large collapses occurred throughout the room as the soldiers were quickly eliminated.

The entire group of Monica inevitably stopped firing as they looked in amazement at the destruction caused.

"Done," Monica said, waking everyone up and making them look at her.

Their surprise was greater when they saw Monica dragging a handless Ronan, leaving a trail of blood.

"Catch," Monica said, throwing Ronan towards Drax.

"Hold him until the Xandarians arrive," Monica said with a suggestive smile.

"Sure, I'll make sure he doesn't escape," Drax said, looking at Ronan, who still had a vacant look.

"You had to involve us in this? It seemed like you could handle it alone," Peter said, looking at her speechlessly.

"Well, I wasn't entirely sure; I didn't know how strong Ronan could have become with the stone," Monica shrugged. It was better to do everything possible.

The rest of the party might be useful during the fight, at least as a distraction.

''So, the money thing is still on?'' asked Rocket looking at Monica.

"Sure, I'll accompany you and make sure you get paid. How dare my father offer a reward for the orb and send me?" Monica said, still annoyed.

"Great," Rocket said, smiling. The amount was not small, so he was really happy.

The group quickly continued advancing and easily took control of the ship. Peter also used the ship to send a message to the Nova, telling them that they had taken care of Ronan.

As Nova Prime saw Monica behind Peter, she really believed them, or she would have seriously doubted the information.

Ronan's ship landed on the outskirts of the city before the entire group disembarked.

There were already several Nova soldiers waiting for them along with Nova Prime.

"Monica," Nova Prime said upon seeing her.

"Hello," Monica said, looking at her.

"How is your father?" Nova Prime asked politely.

"Fine, he sent me for this," Monica said, gently lifting her collar.

"I see," Nova Prime nodded.

"But since I caused trouble in your place, I'll give him to you," Monica said, pointing to Ronan, who had new wounds on his body.

"That would be helpful," Nova Prime said, nodding as she saw Ronan. Capturing him would boost the morale of her people after all the destruction he had caused and would relieve a lot of the pressure she was feeling.

"On behalf of the Nova Corps, I want to express our gratitude for helping us defend Xandar," Nova Prime said, looking at the whole group.

"We will never forget what you did," Nova Prime said with a serious expression.

"I heard your ship was destroyed during the battle," Nova Prime said, looking at Peter.

"Please let us build you another one. In the meantime, you can rest. Denarian, please take care of them and make sure they are treated well," Nova Prime said, looking at the man who had contacted Peter on Xandar.

"Yes, Nova Prime," Denarian said, nodding.

The rest of the group thanked Nova Prime before going with Denarian.

Everyone except Monica was either a fugitive or a criminal who would never receive that kind of treatment, so they were somewhat excited.

Denarian took the group to the city's most expensive hotel before giving each of them a room.

"The ship will be ready tomorrow, then you are free to leave," Denarian said, looking at Peter.

"You're kicking us out so fast? How ungrateful," Peter joked.

"You know I didn't mean it that way, but please keep an eye on them. You know they're not exactly the most law-abiding types," Denarian said, feeling a bit of a headache from having to take care of them.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them," Peter said, shaking his head.

"Okay, enjoy everything you want. Don't hold back and ask for anything," Denarian said before leaving.

Peter shook his head as he chuckled to himself, entering the luxurious room before heading straight to the bathroom.

He had been to prison, almost died being sucked into space, and fought against an army of Sakarians; now, he just wanted to take a bath and sleep.

The rest of the group wasn't much different, and they all took a good rest.

Of course, except for Monica, who was sitting in her room playing with the necklace containing the stone.

It looked really beautiful, like a shining purple gem.

Monica finally stopped playing with the necklace and went to take a bath.

As Monica enjoyed her bath, Peter came out of his room completely clean before going to Gamora's room.

After knocking on the door, Gamora opened it and looked at him. Peter noticed that her hair was a little wet, assuming she had also just bathed.

"Is something wrong?" Gamora asked, stepping aside so Peter could enter.

"Hm, what are you going to do from now on?" Peter asked, looking at her.

"You're asking a silly question. Weren't we going to stick together?" Gamora asked, looking at him.

"I just wanted to make sure, after all, it could be just what I wanted," Peter laughed lightly.

"I suppose we still have to confirm it with the others," Gamora nodded.

"Although I don't think Monica will come with us," Peter said.

"I think the opposite; she'll definitely want to come with us. She ventured into space for the first time, and I don't think she'll settle for just a few days," Gamora said, smiling slightly.

"Sure thing," said Peter, shaking his head.

"Yondu is already pestering me for the money; I told him we'd go to Knowhere with him tomorrow," Peter chuckled.

"He's shameless, barely did anything, and still demands the money," Gamora shook her head.

"Well, he's a Ravager, so that's to be expected," Peter shrugged.

The rest of the day, everyone enjoyed a well-deserved rest and indulged in the luxuries of the hotel.

The next day, the entire group stood in front of a hangar where Peter's ship had already been repaired.

"They're quite fast," Monica commented casually.

"They are," Peter nodded before turning to Denarian.

"Thank you," Peter said, looking at him.

"It's okay, I have a family; I could go back to them thanks to you," Denarian said genuinely grateful, his family had told him they almost died.

"Your criminal record has been wiped clean, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't commit any crimes from now on," Denarian said a bit nervously and tactfully.

Monica rolled her eyes before walking towards the ship.

The rest of the group joined her before Peter powered up the ship and they departed from the planet.

Not long after leaving Xandar, a gigantic ship immediately arrived alongside them.

Peter activated the communication, and as expected, it was Yondu.

"Boy, let's go to Knowhere," Yondu said appearing on the screen, subtly looking at the other people before his eyes suddenly focused on Monica.

She was the only one with red eyes that seemed to glow, a characteristic of Damian, so he immediately assumed she was his daughter and, in fact, still alive.

His eyes were also drawn to Monica's collar which was glowing with a purple hue.

"Sure, see you there," Peter nodded before advancing and entering hyperspace; Yondu's ship quickly followed.

Time passed quickly, and the two ships arrived at Knowhere.

"This place has really changed," Gamora remarked, seeing that the Celestial's head was no longer visible; she had visited it before Damian took it on one of her many trips to investigate the Infinity Stones.

The head seemed to be covered by a metal sphere now, and there were hundreds of ports with ships docking.

Three large arrow-shaped ships were above Knowhere and seemed to be guarding the place, intimidating anyone with malicious intent.

''What big ships," said Peter in amazement when he saw the three ships.

"Those are Star Destroyers," Monica said.

Behind them, Yondu's ship also emerged but seemed unwilling to detach.

Peter quickly found a spot to dock before getting off the ship.

They waited for a few minutes when Yondu arrived with some of his men.

"So, let's do this," Yondu said, rubbing his hands with a smile.

"Follow me," Monica nodded before starting to walk.

Taking several shuttles, they reached the logistics area; at the reception, a woman was talking on the phone while looking down.

"Hello, we came for the reward for the orb," Monica said approaching the desk.

"Yes, go to the side where they will inspect that the orb is the real one," the woman said without even looking up.

Monica immediately looked annoyed before clearing her throat loudly.

Then the woman's gaze finally lifted, and she saw Monica.

Her mouth dropped, and the phone in her ear fell to her lap.

"Princess, I apologize for not recognizing you," the woman said standing up nervously.

''It's okay, just collect the reward for the orb,'' Monica said carelessly.

"But... we have to check that it's what the king asked for in that place," the woman said hesitantly, pointing to a small building next to them.

"Who said that? Isn't my word enough?" Monica frowned, her red eyes unconsciously glowing in an intimidating manner.

"The scientist," the woman said, almost crying; she was definitely going to be fired.

"Just pay them," Monica stepped away, signaling to Peter.

"Okay," the woman said, with no other choice.

Peter quickly approached and gave his details; there was a small notification sound, and upon checking, he saw that they had added funds to his account.

Peter quickly glanced over the figures, a big smile on his face.

"If anyone asks, just say I have the orb," Monica told the woman.

"Okay," the woman nodded.

Peter, suddenly feeling like the king of the world with so much money, turned around and saw several covetous looks fixed on him, waiting for him to distribute the money.

For a moment, he felt like running, but he knew there was nowhere to go.

He reluctantly started transferring the money, each time he did, he looked at his account and felt a pang as the numbers changed.

"Okay, I'm glad we made a good deal," Yondu said, smiling slightly as he left with his men.

"What will you do now?" Monica asked, looking at the rest of the group.

''Isn't that what we're going to do?" asked Gamora, looking at her.

"Aren't you coming?" Rocket asked, looking at Monica.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Monica asked, a bit surprised.

"Of course, who will save our asses when we get into trouble?" Peter joked.

"Well, if it's okay with you guys, I'll gladly join. It'll be fun," Monica said with a smile.

"But first," Monica said, pausing for a moment.

"Cortana," Monica said aloud.

The rest of the group looked at her in confusion as she seemed to be talking to thin air.

Suddenly, a person appeared out of nowhere; the small woman had white hair and golden eyes, overall looking like a goddess.

"Hello," Cortana said, smiling at Monica.

"Don't give me that smile, why didn't you tell me that Dad had put a bounty on the orb?" Monica said annoyed as she pinched Cortana's cheeks.

"Hey! Respect your future mother," Cortana complained, trying to remove Monica's hands.

"And you didn't ask," Cortana teased as she moved away from her.

"Future mother? You've got nerve," Monica teased back, trying not to show how bothered she was by that word.

"Just give me the stone and go play with your friends," Cortana said, smiling, almost like a mother sending her daughter out to play.

Monica gritted her teeth in frustration but still took off the collar before handing the stone to Cortana.

Cortana just gave her a victorious smile before disappearing.

"Damn it," Monica muttered.

The rest of the group just looked dumbfounded at the little argument that had taken place.

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