Groot stood up and disappeared into the vast forest outside the ship.
Not long after, he returned carrying several unidentified animals in his hands. Rocket skillfully skinned and roasted them while Nebula and Tony temporarily stopped repairing the ship to fill their stomachs first.
The three of them—and one giant tree—sat around the campfire eating meat.
"Not bad," Tony said between bites. "Tastes kind of like rabbit."
He was enjoying himself quite a bit. He had no idea what kind of creature it was, but edible was good enough. Once he returned to Earth, he probably wouldn't get to eat alien barbecue again.
While the four quietly ate dinner, the sounds of animals in the surrounding forest gradually disappeared.
None of them paid much attention to it. This was an alien planet after all—who knew what strange habits the wildlife had?
Hidden within the forest, however, a group of Ravagers dressed in scavenger gear were silently approaching the crashed ship.
They were Yondu's men.
After accepting the Sovereign Queen's bounty, they had come to capture Quill and the others, though they still didn't know Quill had already left.
Suddenly, one of the Ravagers stepped on something.
A series of mechanical clicks sounded.
"Fuck—"
The man looked up and saw more than a dozen metallic boxes rising from the ground around them.
In the next second, dozens of tranquilizer darts shot out from the devices.
Caught completely off guard, the Ravagers were instantly brought down by the sedatives. In one sweep, the entire group collapsed.
"The traps got triggered."
Rocket glanced at the device on his wrist, immediately tossed aside the meat in his hand, grabbed his blaster, and sprinted into the forest.
"Groot, stay here with Nebula. Tony, you're with me."
Tony swallowed the last piece of meat, his helmet sealing shut as he blasted straight into the air.
From above, his field of vision was far superior to Rocket's, and with JARVIS assisting his scans, Yondu's men had nowhere to hide.
Locking onto the area with the highest concentration of targets, Tony raised his hand.
A small electric shock device launched from his forearm armor and landed directly in the middle of the Ravagers.
Crackling electricity erupted instantly.
Through Tony's visor, he watched an entire cluster of Ravagers collapse unconscious from the electric discharge.
Rocket darted rapidly through the woods. At the same time, he pulled a mine from behind his back, activated it, and leaped into the air before throwing it into the middle of the Ravagers.
"There! Open fire!!"
Rocket's position was exposed the moment he jumped—but he'd done it on purpose to draw their attention.
Still suspended midair, Rocket grinned and pressed the detonator without hesitation.
Bzzzzzt—!
A burst of blue light exploded from the mine.
Everyone within range was suddenly hurled into the air by a powerful force before crashing violently back down.
An anti-gravity grenade.
It could instantly reverse gravity within its effective radius.
And Rocket wasn't finished.
He immediately tossed out another grenade.
The Ravagers who had just smashed into the ground were launched into the air once again before suffering another brutal free fall.
By now, they were thoroughly disoriented.
Before they could even stand back up, Tony's electric device arrived overhead.
Another surge of electricity later, they were completely incapacitated. The fact that nobody had wet themselves was already impressive.
Then suddenly—
A sharp whistle echoed through the forest.
A red-glowing arrow shot out from the darkness and stopped just one inch away from Rocket's eye.
"Fuck… Yondu's here…"
Rocket cursed under his breath while frantically signaling Tony with his eyes to return to the ship immediately.
Tony understood at once and quickly turned back.
Meanwhile, Yondu emerged from the forest with a grin, stopping in front of Rocket.
"How's it going, little rat?"
"Pretty good, Smurf."
Even while captured, Rocket's mouth remained as sharp as ever.
"We got ourselves a nice little contract," Yondu said leisurely while pacing around. "Some shiny gold lady offered us a reward too good to refuse if we handed over you and your friends. Looks like you really pissed her off."
The surrounding Ravagers burst into laughter.
"How'd you find us?" Rocket ignored the teasing and got straight to the point.
"Oh, that was easy enough," Yondu replied casually. "Back during that battle on Xandar with the Kree, I planted a tracker on your ship."
Rocket could only sigh helplessly.
None of them had noticed the tracker, and they'd spent all this time flying around the galaxy with it attached.
"If you just want the batteries, promise you won't hurt the others and I'll tell you where they are."
Rocket compromised.
He knew there was no escaping now. All he could do was buy time for Tony, Groot, and Nebula.
"Well, ain't that lucky for you, little rat," Yondu laughed. "Because I'm exactly the kind of guy who never keeps his promises."
He clearly didn't believe Rocket.
But then his tone suddenly shifted.
"If I did keep my promises, I'd have already turned you all in."
That statement stunned Rocket.
Not just Rocket—even Yondu's own men looked confused.
"What?!" one Ravager blurted out.
Ignoring him, Yondu continued:
"How much are those batteries worth? Couple hundred thousand, maybe?"
"But the Sovereign Queen offered us a million."
The one speaking was the same bearded Ravager who had questioned Yondu earlier.
Clearly, he had no interest in a few hundred thousand when a million-unit bounty was on the table.
This bearded man was the same one who had openly spoken against Yondu back at the Ravager outpost.
It was obvious now—he no longer respected Yondu's authority.
His words were like a stone thrown into calm water, instantly stirring up waves among the crew.
The surrounding Ravagers immediately began whispering among themselves.
Without anyone noticing, Yondu's control over them had already begun to weaken.
"Get this straight!" Yondu roared. "If we hand over the Guardians of the Galaxy, the entire Nova Empire will come after us!"
And honestly, he wasn't wrong.
Xandar had already publicly recognized the Guardians.
Yet even one of Yondu's most loyal subordinates finally spoke up in disagreement.
"Boss, I think you're too soft on Quill. No matter how many times he betrays you, you always protect him. Don't we matter too? We're the ones who've always stood by you!"
The more he spoke, the more emotional he became.
As one of Yondu's most trusted followers, he genuinely believed Yondu treated Quill differently from the rest of them.
No matter how much trouble Quill caused, Yondu always cleaned up after him.
And as he said—Quill had betrayed them countless times already, yet Yondu's punishments were always all bark and no bite.
"Calm down, Kraglin…"
Another Ravager stepped in to stop him.
This speaker was clearly another of Yondu's loyal men.
And Kraglin—the skinny Ravager with the somewhat comical appearance—would one day inherit command of Yondu's crew.
"That's right," the bearded Ravager seized the opportunity immediately. "Kraglin's right. Yondu's gone soft. He's no longer fit to lead the Ravagers. We need a new captain!"
It was obvious he had been waiting for this moment.
He'd harbored rebellious thoughts for a long time already.
Previously, Yondu's strength and reputation had kept him in check, and he lacked a proper excuse.
But now—
The opportunity had arrived.
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