A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

65. Tell me

There was no room for small talk. Once Naomi had dropped the bomb on the Guardians, Gamora had not hesitated. She rose from her chair and stalked around the table, making toward Naomi. But Naomi was not scared, because she knew Gamora, and knew what the woman's intentions would be. Naomi's companions did not know that, and it took a few minutes to convince them to stand down and let Naomi leave the room with Gamora alone. Loki had been the hardest to convince.

Naomi had planned on speaking to Gamora privately, it had been a part of her and Tony's plan from the beginning. Although Naomi had a policy of being transparent with all the heroes as much as possible, Gamora and the guardians were a special case.

"How could Thanos find the Soul Stone?" Gamora asked immediately, shutting the door. Their location of choice was Naomi's bedroom, due to it being in an isolated wing of the palace. Naomi sighed at the question, pacing to the bed as she thought of how best to approach the sensitive subject.

"Because you know. And he has ways of making you tell him." Naomi said bluntly. There would be no sugarcoating with her, not in this scenario. In Naomi's mind, this conversation could be the turning point of thwarting Thanos's foretold victory.

"How?" Gamora asked, stepping toward the other woman. Her arms were folded in front of her chest, as though she were trying to restrain herself from lashing out. Her voice remained calm and steady, not a waver giving away her inner turmoil. 

"I don't know if it's happened already, but Nebula is going to make an attempt to kill him, and she will fail." Naomi explained, leaning against the bed and watching Gamora pace the room. The green woman was used to facing danger head on, or planning for it based on her own knowledge. Taking the word of a stranger, especially on  matters concerning her adoptive father, was proving difficult for Gamora. "He'll, uh," She continued, hesitating for a moment. Naomi's pause, however, made Gamora's head turn sharply toward her, and she quickly continued her explanation. "He will torture Nebula to get the stone's location out of you."

This stopped Gamora's pacing, and the woman stood still for a moment. She recovered quickly, and pressed herself against the wall opposite the bed where Naomi leaned. "I would believe that." Gamora said quietly, and Naomi wondered if she had been meant to hear. "But how do I believe you?" She challenged, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. "Prove it to me. prove how you can know all this."

Naomi sighed, feeling terribly tired. "When you first met Thanos, he gave you a small knife, bladed on both ends, encrusted with rubies, and perfectly balanced." She said, looking at the floor. "Perfectly balanced, as all things should be."

Gamora breathed in slowly, releasing the breath after several tense seconds. Naomi didn't look up from the floor. She didn't want to see the woman's expression. "Not good enough." Her voice sounded, and prompted Naomi to raise her head. Gamora's face was fierce, her eyes concentrated on Naomi with an intensity she had never seen before. Naomi paused, because this had never happened before. Usually, all it took was a phrase to prove her invasive knowledge of the past. From there, she had usually been surrounded by others who could vouch for her honesty. Looking at Gamora now, Naomi thought of Tony, and what it had taken to convince him of her knowledge. But thinking about Tony only reminded Naomi of how important it was that she convince Gamora, and follow through with the plan.

"Okay." Naomi nodded, and began to think of everything she could possibly know about Gamora. "Thanos visited your planet and murdered half the population, including your mother. He raised you and Nebula, but he pitched you against each other in fights. You always won, and whenever you did, Thanos replaced a part of Nebula with wires and metal."

Naomi heard Gamora's breathing quicken. "That doesn't prove anything."

Naomi changed tactics, and kept her eyes off of the woman's face. "You are in love with Peter Quill, even if you won't really admit it to each other." Gamora sucked in a breath, but did not say anything. Naomi continued. "You trust him enough that when the time comes, you will give him instructions to kill you, so that Thanos cannot get to you, and learn the location of the Soul Stone."

"Not good enough."

"The Soul Stone is on Vormir." Naomi whispered, and this gave Gamora pause.

"Keep going." Gamora said. Naomi looked up at her, confused.

"What?" She asked, peering at her. "Why?" Gamora glared back, her face defensive. The woman was still pressed against the wall, her posture tense as though expecting an attack.

"I believe you. Keep going." Gamora fumed, her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes wide. Naomi didn't want to continue, but the assassin sensed her hesitation. "How far does your knowledge you?" She hissed through clenched teeth. Naomi fiddled with her hands, and felt ashamed of what she would say next.

"You hate Thanos. You would kill him if you got the chance. But some part of you, some small, buried part of you would cry if you watched him die."

They were silent.

Naomi's head shot up when she heard footsteps, and saw Gamora at the door, her hand on the knob. Instinctually, Naomi stood up and shouted, "Wait!" Gamora froze, and shook her head.

"No more. We're done here." She seethed, and her voice shook with raw emotion. The sting if regret seared Naomi, and she knew that she should not have told Gamora such things.

"I'm not done, please. I won't tell you anything about yourself, I promise." Naomi continued, her legs suddenly feeling weak. Gamora stayed still. She neither turned to face her or open the door to leave, and Naomi took it as an invitation to speak.

"If there ever comes a time when Thanos finds us." Naomi said, finding it harder to breath as she stared at the back of the unmoving assassin's head. "And he asks you if you know where the Soul Stone is... don't tell him." Naomi breathed deeply, her nerves growing worse instead of calming. She felt as though she was signing her own death warrant, but she continue on because the words needed to be said.

"Let me tell him. If he tries to take me to Vormir, let me go. Please."

Gamora didn't move.

"If he takes you to Vormir, he'll kill you." Naomi whispered, her vision blurred with tears that she refused to let fall. Gamora's posture jerked, then fell still once more. "You'll die, and he'll win... and he'll kill them."

"Tell me." Gamora's voice was low, and rough. Naomi didn't ask if she was sure she wanted to hear.

"Mantis, Drax, Groot... and Peter."

Gamora opened the door, and walked out.