WORLD ALONE 一 PETER QUILL

CHAPTER THREE

WORLD ALONE
STONES ON STEROIDS

The pink lady bowed and gestured to the door. Gamora pushed her way to the front with Rocket close behind her. On his way to the door, he grabbed Oribella by the hand and dragged her inside with Groot and Peter following them.

Though Oribella worked right next to the Collector's lair, oddly enough she had never been inside. The place was a lot bigger than she thought it'd be and its space was occupied by exotic things she had never laid eyes on.

"Okay, this isn't creepy at all," Rocket muttered as he scanned the place. Oribella hummed in agreement. The place sheltered many oddities, things that you wouldn't believe unless you saw them.

"We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all manner," the girl informed. Her voice was shrill and just the sound of it tempted Oribella to put her head through a wall.

"I present to you," she said, expanding her arms to give off a dramatic effect. "Taneleer Tivan, the Collector."

Taneleer turned around, his appearance twining with the mood of his collections. The man was rather odd looking. He had white spiky hair, a large fur coat, and ludicrous glasses.

The five circled around the table, turning their attention to the man. Taneleer removed his glasses and met Gamora at the center table.

"Oh, my dear Gamora," he purred while taking her hand and placing a kiss on it. "How wonderful to meet in the flesh."

"Let's bypass the formalities, Tivan," Gamora dismissed. "We have what we discussed."

"What is that thing there?" Tiva, distracted, asked while looking past Gamora.

"I am Groot," Groot responded. Tivan walked right past Gamora, brushing her off quickly as he was suddenly interested in the tree creature.

"I never thought I'd meet a Groot. Sir, you must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass, at the moment of your death of course," Tivan offered.

What a strange man, thought Oribella. She furrowed her brows in confusion before slowly slinking an arm around Groot protectively.

"I am Groot."

"Why? So he could turn you into a frickin' chair?" Rocket snapped defensively.

"That is your pet?" Tivan asked, cocking his head to the side in Rocket's direction.

"His what?" Rocket growled. Oribella quickly jumped to Rocket as he unsheathed his gun. Tivan chuckled, which encouraged Rocket to pull out his gun. Oribella quickly placed her hand on top and shoved it back into the holster.

"Tivan," Gamora said, regaining his attention. "We have been halfway around the galaxy, retrieving this orb."

"Very well, then. Let us see what you brought."

Oribella watched as Peter pulled out a spherical shaped object out of his bag. He went to hand it to Taneleer but ultimately dropped it. Peter crouched down to pick it up quickly and resumed holding it out to the man.

Oribella covered her mouth with her hand, attempting to stifle a giggle. The motion didn't go unnoticed by Peter, who sent her a smirk.

"Oh my new friends, " Taneleer hummed as he looked around. "Before creation itself, there were six singularities." Taneleer turned whatever it was in his hand and on the table in front of them, the two claw-like mechanisms unscrewed the orb. Purple halo circles appeared in a dome above them.

"Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots." In the purple halos, six ingots appeared, all varying in color and shape.

"Infinity stones."

The claw further unscrewed the sphere on the table. Bother Peter and Oribella gave it a wary glance before turning their attention back on Tivan.

"These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength. Observe," he instructed. Oribella turned to watch the scene unfold behind them. What seemed to be a giant was holding a scepter with a purple ingot in the middle. A civilization of people had been fleeing from the giant. The giant slammed the butt of the scepter into the ground, killing everyone in a mere few seconds.

"These carriers can use the stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field," he compared. The planet of green was soon overtaken by the purple.

"There's a little pee coming out of me right now," Peter admitted. Oribella quickly shot him a look before dismissing his words and returning her focus back to the scene before her.

"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it." Ori watched as the six hooded figured spontaneously combusted before her.

The claws had finished unscrewing the orb. She didn't have to even think for a second before she recognized the ingot as one of the Infinity Stones. Oribella, seeing what had just happened to the nation of people, took a step away from the table. She caught the attention of Rocket, who she sent an unsettling glance too across the table.

"Beautiful!" Taneleer exclaimed while reaching out to the stone. "Beyond compare," he added.

"Blah, blah, blah. We're all very fascinated, whitey. But we'd like to get paid," he curtly demanded as the purple halos disappeared above them.

"How would you like to get paid?" Tivan asked.

"What do you think fancy man? Units!"

Oribella warily observed Taneleer's servant. Her eyes were glued to the stone, almost as if she were under a spell. She was enthralled by it. The servant sauntered up to the table, causing Oribella to accidentally bump into Peter as she stepped even further away.

"Sorry," she muttered. The Collector pulled a drawer open, completely oblivious to the fact that his servant was getting dangerously close to the ingot.

"Very well then," he murmured. Taneleer was working on the transaction when he snapped his head up to see his servant standing inches away from the ingot.

"Carina, stand back," he ordered. Everyone tensed as they witnessed Carina disobey the Collector's orders.

"I will no longer be your slave!" She protested. Carina grabbed the stone, sending purple missile-like objects flying. As one headed straight toward Oribella, Peter grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down. The two were soon joined by Gamora, who had barely dodged a flying purple object herself.

The building shook violently. The purple flares were continuous. They were tearing down structures and knocking over things in their path. Countless displays Taneleer Tivan collected were obliviated. Oribella kept her head down, but that hadn't kept her from hearing the most deafening scream she had ever heard.

Seconds later, a wave of destruction emitted from the girl and destroyed the entire interior of the building. Gamora, Oribella, and Peter all carefully peeked their heads over the structure that sheltered them only to find a demolished building.

"What the fu..."