Soren didn't slow down and took a few more vaults of batteries, not even when the High Priestess cried out in despair. Her outrage meant nothing to him.
The Sovereigns had attacked without warning, blinded by arrogance, taking their precious energy batteries was not a cruelty.
In truth, Sovereign was lucky.
Out in the wider cosmos, many beings far stronger and far less patient than Soren roamed freely. If the Sovereigns crossed a true bloodthirsty god, it wouldn't be a few vaults torn from the planet, it would be their entire planet turned to dust.
Watching their vaults vanish into Soren's spatial storage, the golden-skinned crowd collapsed into panic. First the Guardians humiliated them… now an unknown cosmic powerhouse stripped them of their most prized resource with a flick of his hand.
For a people obsessed with superiority, it was pure despair.
Soren cast them a final glance. Attack first and cry later… the height of stupidity.
The energy batteries would serve two purposes, they would teach the Sovereigns a lesson they'd never forget, and Tony Stark could make use of them.
Even if Tony couldn't reverse-engineer them completely, he'd have months of new toys to tinker with.
Without another word, Soren touched Freyja's arm and teleported them off the planet. The air rippled and Sovereign vanished behind them.
Now drifting together in the quiet dark of space, Freyja finally asked.
"Soren… what exactly did you take? Those people looked like their world had ended."
Soren gave a mild smile. "Just their energy batteries."
"My friends were hunted because they took a few. So I took all of them. Consider it balancing the scales."
Freyja huffed, crossing her arms. "A light punishment, honestly. I thought for a moment you were going to wipe them out."
"Attacking people the moment they appear… they deserved worse."
Soren shot her a look. "Do I look like the murderous type?"
"…??" Freyja opened her mouth, paused, and thought better of answering.
Soren sighed. "They were reckless and rude, but not evil."
"No need to slaughter them. And besides…" His turned his focus forward. "We have more pressing matters. If we want to find Thor, Hulk, or the Guardians, we need to locate the only man who knows Ego's star."
"Who is that?"
"The leader of a pirate alliance in the galaxy."
"Pirates? You're joking."
"I never joke about pirates," Soren replied dryly. "We're going to find Yondu Udonta."
To Freyja, Soren sounded amused. But he wasn't exaggerating.
The Ravagers were notorious across the galaxy. A massive, roaming bandit collective with rules, honor, and a very firm code.
Not like Ronan. Not like Thanos.
Dangerous and brutal, but not mindlessly cruel.
And Yondu, for all his sins, was still the only living being who could lead Soren to Ego.
"Come on," Soren said, tapping Freyja's shoulder. "A pirate king isn't going to find himself."
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
According to the information Soren had gathered, the Ravagers patrolled a wide expanse of space, a territory carved up by hundreds of pirate captains. Each captain commanded their own crew and ship, and within this chaotic network, Yondu Udonta was one of the most notorious.
With the star map and the Space Stone in hand, Soren needed only a single thought to cross light-years.
A shimmering rift opened, and he pulled Freyja through it. When the distortion faded, they were already deep inside Ravager-controlled space.
The void stretched endlessly around them… but they weren't alone.
A massive battleship zoomed past them, close enough that the shockwave from its engines rippled over Freyja's suit. The Ravager insignia, a sort of leaf shield?
Inside the cockpit, one of the crew frowned at the radar.
"Hey… did something show up in our flight path?" he muttered. "Thought I saw a blip."
The green-skinned crewman beside him grunted and toggled the external monitors. When the feed lit up, both men nearly jumped out of their seats.
"What the? They're just standing there. In open space."
"That's impossible! Get the captain, now!"
The ship banked hard, engines roaring, as it looped back toward the spot where Soren and Freyja hovered.
Freyja stiffened when the massive vessel angled toward them. "They're coming straight at us…"
"It's fine," Soren placing a hand on her shoulder. "Looks like we've been noticed. Saves us time."
A bright searchlight snapped on, bathing them in harsh illumination, highlighting their silhouettes against the void.
A startled voice boomed from the ship's loudspeakers.
"Identify yourselves! How are you breathing in open space?!"
Soren didn't bother answering. He simply tightened his grip on Freyja's hand and vanished in a ripple of distorted space.
Inside the battleship, the pirate captain, a burly, bearded brute with cybernetic implants glinting across his jaw, was mid-shout.
"Lock onto them—don't let!"
"Where the hell'd they go?"