A New Infinity Stone

TWENTY TWO

Knowhere
Peter Quill's POV ...

The Guardians and I stand in the middle of what looks like a war zone. What used to be The Collector's museum has now been reduced to mostly ash. The glass cases have been shattered, releasing their inhabitants to the destruction.

"What the hell happened here?" Rocket questions as he picks up a piece of debris and throws it behind him.
"It can't be." Gamora whispers as she runs her hands over the black scars that stain the museum. "He got to her."
I stare at Gamora in confusion.
"Gamora, do you know what happened here?" I ask, my hand lightly touching her arm.

This seems to snap her out of her trance, and she spins around to face me. Her dark eyes are wild with fear, something that is rare for Gamora, but she doesn't answer my question. Instead, she rushes through the destroyed museum in search of something. The rest of us remain where we are, watching as Gamora searches through the debris in a frenzy.

"Death occurred here." Mantis says softly. "And there was someone very powerful."
"Whatever it is, I will kill it." Drax states as he unsheathes his knives.
Rocket scoffs and rolls his eyes. "You really think that they stuck around?"
Groot starts climbing through the wreckage away from us.
"Groot, come back here, you idiot." Rocket grumbles as he follows the little tree.

"Gamora!" I call out.
She doesn't meet my gaze as she carries on riffling through the garbage.
"Where is it?" Gamora yells. "It should be here! He was supposed to protect it!"
I glance sideways at Drax and Mantis, but they seem like they are in their own world. With a deep sigh, I start making my way towards Gamora.
"Hey, what's going on?" I ask, gripping her arm to stop her frantic search.
She glares at my hand, but I don't let go.
"There was an Infinity Stone here. The Reality Stone, but it's gone, and The Collector was supposed to protect it." She finally meets my gaze. "She took it."
"Who took it?" I question in confusion.
She pauses, building up the suspension. "Hex."

"Am I – am I supposed to know who that is?"
She growls at me as she pushes my hand off her arm.
"Peter, she is even more dangerous than Thanos." Gamora slumps to the floor, and I sit next to her. "Thanos used to talk about this power that he felt coming from earth. At first, I thought he was just talking about The Avengers, but then he started talking about a new Infinity Stone. One that is inside of a human. A death stone."
I pause. "Wait, so, there are seven Infinity Stones?"
Gamora nods. "But this one is different. It is inside of her, and Thanos cannot harness the power without destroying himself or the vessel."
"That's good, right?" I interrupt.
"That's what I used to think. But it turns out that if Thanos can control her, he can control the stone. He was planning on using the Sceptre on her to control her, and then she would gather an army and collect the stones for him." Gamora places her hand on top of mine in a comforting gesture. "He was never supposed to get to her."

Gamora pauses as she looks around the museum. Drax and Mantis are helping Groot and Rocket search for any survivors, but it is like a nuclear bomb has gone off. Most things have been turned to ash.

"The end of the universe is coming."

Mellona's POV ...
The atmosphere inside the ship is awkward and sprinkled with fear, fear of me losing control again. I have moved to the front of the ship, and I am sitting in the passenger seat next to Klaue.

"So, Hex, which stone are we getting next?" He asks, pulling up the navigation system.
"The Power Stone. It's on Xandar."
He whistles lowly. "That place is going to be heavily guarded."
I nod in agreement.
"They have an air space system which alerts them on every ship that enters the atmosphere above the Capital. However, there is a weak spot just five miles out of the Capital. I suggest we head there and land.
Klaue inputs the coordinates into the navigation system, and we set course for Xandar.