Chapter Summaries

Nova Prime struggled to stop Ronan’s attacks on Nova Empire outposts while the Kree Empire refused to intervene. At the Enforcement Division, D'νανlian Sal investigated Gamora, Rocket, and Groot and suspected a conspiracy involving Thanos and Ronan.

• A Kree official dismissed Nova Prime’s demand to restrain Ronan, and she considered how to defend the Nova Empire from his attacks.
• An officer reported that Ronan’s accomplices had been arrested, and Nova Prime ordered D'νανlian Sal to investigate them.
• Roman Day told D'νανlian Sal that Gamora was Thanos’s adopted daughter and that she and Nebula had recently been sent to assist Ronan.
• D'νανlian Sal suspected that Thanos and Ronan were conspiring against the Nova Empire and resolved to question Gamora.
• Roman Day presented Rocket’s and Groot’s records, and D'νανlian Sal was startled by the humanoid plant.

D'νανlian Sal sent Gamora and the others to Kyln Prison to force her to reveal Ronan's plans. Meanwhile, Chen Mo confronted Yondu at The Broker's shop with a business offer, leaving Yondu suspicious that someone in his crew had betrayed him.

• Roman Day introduced Star-Lord, whose antics amused him but irritated D'νανlian Sal.
• Roman Day said interrogation would not work, so D'νανlian Sal ordered Gamora and the other three sent to Kyln Prison.
• Chen Mo watched Yondu and Kraglin enter The Broker's shop, then followed them inside.
• Chen Mo told Yondu he had a big deal to discuss, and Yondu wondered how Chen Mo had learned where he was going.
• Yondu suspected that someone among the Colonisers had betrayed him.

Chen Mo met Yondu and explained that Star-Lord had been arrested by the Nova Corps after a fight on Xandar. Yondu’s Yaka Arrow remained aimed at Chen Mo as Chen Mo explained why he had left Star-Lord behind, leaving Yondu to consider the situation.

• Yondu suspected a Ravager had revealed his whereabouts and questioned Chen Mo about who he was and how he had found him.
• Chen Mo said he was Star-Lord’s friend and told Yondu that the Nova Corps had arrested Star-Lord.
• Yondu realized his bounty had led two mercenaries to pursue Star-Lord and grew angry that the confrontation had happened on Xandar.
• Yondu aimed his Yaka Arrow at Chen Mo and demanded to know why he had not been arrested too.
• Chen Mo explained that he had gone back to the Milano after Star-Lord stopped for a green-skinned beauty.

Chen Mo confronted Yondu when Yondu questioned who he was, and knocked aside the Yaka Arrow with an Adamantium Throwing Knife. After Chen Mo revealed he was from Earth, Yondu recognized his strength and treated him with respect.

• Yondu questioned Chen Mo after learning he had accompanied Star-Lord back to the ship.
• Yondu sent the Yaka Arrow at Chen Mo, who used an Adamantium Throwing Knife to knock it aside.
• Kraglin and Yondu were shocked that Chen Mo had stopped the Yaka Arrow, and Yondu asked whether he was a Centaurian.
• Chen Mo said he was from Earth, and Yondu became more wary after recognizing that Chen Mo’s control surpassed his own.
• Chen Mo put away his Throwing Knife, and Yondu recalled the Yaka Arrow and showed Chen Mo respect.

Yondu verified that Chen Mo had rescued Star-Lord on Morag and recognized him as the Commander, the hero Star-Lord had idolized since childhood. Yondu understood why Star-Lord respected Chen Mo so deeply, while reflecting on the harsh upbringing that had kept Star-Lord from feeling at home among the Colonisers.

• Yondu questioned Chen Mo about his relationship with Star-Lord, and Chen Mo explained that he had saved him from Ronan's men on Morag.
• Yondu demanded proof from The Broker, who played surveillance footage confirming that Star-Lord had come willingly with Chen Mo and that Chen Mo's account was true.
• The footage showed Star-Lord's closeness to Chen Mo, making Yondu jealous and prompting him to ask Chen Mo's name.
• Chen Mo said people on Earth called him the Commander, and Yondu recognized him as the hero Star-Lord had admired since childhood.
• Yondu recalled how his strict upbringing of Star-Lord had left him alienated from the Colonisers, while Chen Mo's example had helped Star-Lord endure hardship.

After learning Chen Mo was the legendary Earth Commander, Yondu dropped his suspicions and invited him to discuss a deal aboard the Colonisers' ship. Chen Mo toured the aging warship, where Yondu proudly recounted how he had stolen it from Space Pirates.

• Yondu recognized Chen Mo as the Earth Commander and asked what big deal he wanted to discuss.
• Chen Mo suggested they talk aboard Yondu's ship, and Yondu agreed before taking several ornaments from The Broker's shop.
• Kraglin piloted a small spacecraft carrying Chen Mo and Yondu to the Colonisers' massive flagship.
• Chen Mo saw the ship's hangars and worn interior, noting that its old but stable systems kept it operational.
• Yondu said he had stolen the ship from Space Pirates more than thirty years earlier.

Chen Mo offered to hire Yondu’s Colonisers without payment, promising instead to help restore their recognition by the Ravagers Organization. Yondu was deeply shaken by the offer, which addressed his team’s exile from the powerful interstellar group.

• Yondu told Chen Mo that he had seized the Colonisers’ spaceship after wiping out Space Pirates, and Chen Mo praised him for the deed.
• Chen Mo asked Yondu to gather his men, and Yondu ordered Kraglin to bring them to the ship’s hall.
• Chen Mo observed Yondu’s unruly team as Yondu struggled to maintain order among more than a hundred Colonisers.
• Chen Mo said he wanted to hire the Colonisers without paying them, then offered to help them regain recognition from the Ravagers Organization.
• Yondu reacted with visible shock because the Ravagers Organization had exiled him and no longer recognized his team as members.

Chen Mo encouraged Yondu to make amends for helping Ego by saving Xandar and possibly the entire universe. Yondu began to consider whether defeating Ego could help him regain Stakar's acceptance and return to the Ravagers.

• Yondu insisted that Stakar would never forgive him, but asked Chen Mo what he planned to do after seeing his hopeful expression.
• Chen Mo explained that Yondu had saved Star-Lord from Ego and argued that saving more people could make up for his past mistakes.
• Yondu was moved that Chen Mo understood why he had refused to hand Star-Lord over to Ego.
• Chen Mo proposed that Yondu save Xandar from Ronan and Thanos, but Yondu doubted that would be enough to win Stakar back.
• Chen Mo suggested that Yondu could help save the entire universe and pointed out that Ego might be the reason Yondu was eventually accepted by the Ravagers again.
• Yondu stopped denying his knowledge of Ego's plans and began seriously considering Chen Mo's words.

Yondu accepted Chen Mo’s deal to stop Ego, but his crew rebelled against working without pay. Chen Mo offered them one hundred million to deal with Ronan, and the chapter ended with him saying they would first rescue Star-Lord.

• Yondu believed Chen Mo’s warning about Ego and agreed to the deal, hoping to return to the Colonisers.
• A disfigured bearded brute and other crew members objected to working for free, and Yondu prepared to use the Yaka Arrow.
• Chen Mo stopped Yondu and promised the crew one hundred million to deal with Ronan.
• The crew argued over how much each person would receive, while Yondu decided to purge the troublemakers and reform his crew.
• Yondu asked Chen Mo what they would do next, and Chen Mo said they would first rescue Star-Lord.

Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot were taken to Kyln Prison, where Star-Lord tried to learn why Gamora wanted the Orb. Gamora revealed that she had betrayed Ronan, leaving her true intentions unresolved.

• Nova Corps guards escorted Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot into Kyln Prison, while Rocket confidently talked about escaping.
• Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord traded insults as they walked through the prison.
• Star-Lord questioned Gamora about the Orb, but she refused to answer him.
• Rocket Raccoon accused Gamora of serving someone who wanted to wipe out others, and Star-Lord realized she might be connected to Ronan or Thanos.
• Gamora admitted that she was not helping Ronan retrieve the Orb and had betrayed him.

Gamora revealed that she had betrayed Ronan and made a deal with another buyer, leading Star-Lord to think they were allies against Ronan. At Kyln Prison, Star-Lord was brutally electrocuted after confronting a guard who took his Walkman, then faced armed security drones when he tried to leave the locker room.

• Gamora said she had made a private deal with another buyer and would not let Ronan get the Orb, while a prison guard secretly listened.
• Star-Lord concluded that he and Gamora shared a goal and imagined the two of them growing closer as they fought Ronan.
• Star-Lord argued with Rocket Raccoon about Groot's limited speech before spotting a guard handling his confiscated Walkman and headphones.
• Star-Lord rushed through the gate and demanded his Walkman back, but the blue-skinned guard repeatedly shocked him with an electric baton.
• Star-Lord survived the electrocution and was dragged away for a high-pressure shower, then encountered armed security drones when he tried to leave the locker room.

Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, and Groot entered Kyln Prison, where Star-Lord learned about Rocket’s painful modifications and reconsidered enhancing himself. As the prisoners threatened Gamora for her ties to Ronan, Star-Lord began reassessing his own past and Yondu’s actions.

• Star-Lord stopped resisting the guards, collected prison clothes, and saw Rocket Raccoon arrive battered and soaked.
• Star-Lord noticed Rocket’s extensive cybernetic modifications and reconsidered his own plans to undergo physical enhancement.
• The guards led Star-Lord, Rocket, Gamora, and Groot into Kyln Prison and gave them blankets, leaving them free to move around the dangerous cellblock.
• Prisoners surrounded the group and hurled insults and objects at Gamora, blaming her for deaths caused by Ronan and his followers.
• Rocket warned that the guards would not protect Gamora, while Gamora said the prisoners’ hatred was mild compared with what she had endured.
• Star-Lord felt sympathy for Gamora and reconsidered his own hardships and what Yondu had done for him.

Star-Lord reconsidered his resentment toward Yondu as he compared his past with Gamora’s, then Groot and Rocket Raccoon protected him from a prison bully. After they established their strength in Kyln Prison, Star-Lord joined them and the prisoners left them alone.

• Star-Lord reflected on his relatively safe childhood and realized Yondu had preserved his memories of Earth and his mother, softening his resentment toward him.
• A blue giant threatened Star-Lord and reached for him, but Groot lifted the giant by stabbing his fingers into his nostrils.
• Rocket Raccoon warned the prisoners not to touch Star-Lord, while Groot injured and threw the blue giant to the ground.
• The prisoners stayed silent and stopped considering provoking Groot and Rocket Raccoon.
• Star-Lord told the onlookers he was with Groot and Rocket Raccoon, then followed them past the sobbing blue giant.

Gamora faced the prisoners’ hatred alone in her cell, then guards let a group of them abduct her for an attempted killing. Star-Lord noticed and followed, with Rocket Raccoon close behind, as the prisoners confronted Gamora in the bathroom.

• Gamora left Rocket Raccoon and Groot and entered a solitary cell, where prisoners threatened her over Ronan’s crimes.
• A scarred, bare-chested prisoner watched Gamora from across the cell block as she stayed inside to avoid an attack.
• That night, a guard opened Gamora’s cell for several prisoners, who subdued her and took her toward the bathroom.
• Star-Lord heard Gamora’s muffled growl, saw her being dragged away, and followed; Rocket Raccoon woke and followed him.
• The prisoners pinned Gamora against a bathroom wall, and the bloodshot-eyed bald man declared that he sentenced her to death.

Drax confronted the prisoners threatening Gamora, driven by his hatred of Ronan for killing his family. Gamora briefly overpowered the prisoners, but Drax seized her, and Star-Lord intervened as she faced death.

• Drax entered the bathroom and made the prisoners back down by invoking his reputation as the Destroyer.
• Drax told Gamora that Ronan had killed his wife, Ovett, and daughter, Kamaria, and took a knife to kill her in revenge.
• Gamora seized the two prisoners' knives, defeated them, and told Drax she was neither Ronan's nor Thanos's family and could help stop Ronan.
• Drax grabbed Gamora by the throat and held a knife to her neck, dismissing her words.
• Star-Lord rushed into the bathroom and told Drax that killing Gamora would not help him kill Ronan.

Star-Lord talked Drax out of killing Gamora, then explained that he had saved her because he wanted to sell the Orb to the highest bidder. Rocket Raccoon promised they would escape Kyln Prison, then revealed that he planned to take Star-Lord to Yondu for the bounty on his head.

• Drax threatened Gamora, but Star-Lord distracted him with stories of past alien lovers and warned him that Ronan would come after her.
• Drax released Gamora and left with the red-eyed bald man's knife, while the man lamented losing it.
• Star-Lord, Gamora, and Rocket Raccoon returned to their cell, where Star-Lord admitted he had saved Gamora because he wanted to sell the Orb.
• Rocket Raccoon boasted that he had escaped prison twenty-two times and promised to get them out.
• Rocket Raccoon declared that they would go straight to Yondu to collect the bounty on Star-Lord's head.

After Gamora revealed that her buyer would pay four billion for the Orb, Star-Lord agreed to split the money among the group if they escaped. Rocket Raccoon’s escape plan was thrown into chaos when Groot removed the Kornis battery too early, triggering the prison alarm and bringing security drones down on him.

• Gamora told Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon that her buyer offered four billion for the Orb and promised to divide the money among them if they escaped; Groot awakened and demanded a share.
• Rocket Raccoon outlined the escape plan, which required a guard’s security armband, a prisoner’s prosthetic leg, and a Kornis battery from the watchtower.
• Groot secretly climbed the watchtower and pulled out the battery, triggering the prison alarm.
• Star-Lord and Gamora hurried off to obtain the leg and armband while Rocket Raccoon rushed to Groot.
• Automated security drones surrounded Groot as the guards spotted him holding the battery.

Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, Star-Lord, and Gamora fought the Kyln guards while trying to gather what they needed for their escape. Groot shielded Rocket as Drax brought down armed guards, Star-Lord bargained with a prisoner for his prosthetic leg, and Gamora seized a security armband from the bald guard.

• The guards ordered Groot to return to his cell, but he transformed into a combat form and fought off their drones.
• Rocket Raccoon climbed onto Groot and complained that he needed a weapon, while Groot used a vine shield to protect them from gunfire.
• Drax attacked the armed guards targeting Rocket, knocked them down, and threw Rocket a rifle.
• Rocket used the rifle to destroy the guard drones as Groot protected him.
• Star-Lord asked a limping prisoner for his prosthetic leg and offered to pay for it.
• Gamora subdued the bald guard who had opened her cell, snapped his arm, and tore off his security armband.

Gamora killed a prison guard and obtained his security armband, while the Guardians fought their way toward the watchtower during the escape. The group reached the tower as its remaining guards sounded the alarm and called for reinforcements.

• Gamora killed the bald prison guard, took his security armband, and threw it to Rocket Raccoon.
• Rocket Raccoon combined the armband with the Kornis battery and told Groot to get to the watchtower.
• Star-Lord knocked down a guard who tried to stop him and carried the mechanical leg toward the watchtower.
• Gamora leaped across to the passage, and Groot formed a vine ladder so Star-Lord could climb up with the leg.
• Drax pulled down a guard drone threatening Star-Lord, tore it apart, and climbed after him.
• The watchtower guards called for standby guards to arm themselves, then heard an alarm signaling that a door had opened.

The Guardians of the Galaxy gathered in the watchtower while Rocket Raccoon worked on an escape plan, and Star-Lord learned that Rocket had been joking about needing the mechanical leg. Thanos's informant led armed guards to attack the tower with rocket launchers, leaving the group's escape uncertain.

• Groot pulled a guard out of the watchtower as Rocket Raccoon took control of its console.
• Gamora confronted Drax, and Star-Lord explained that Drax had joined them until he could kill her Boss.
• Rocket Raccoon revealed that he had only needed two items and had teased Star-Lord into paying thirty thousand for a mechanical leg.
• Guard drones attacked the watchtower while the group argued and Rocket Raccoon continued working on the console.
• A prison guard who had sold information about Gamora and the Orb to Thanos's men led armed guards carrying Rocket Launchers to the tower.
• The guards fired two rockets, cracking separate watchtower windows as Gamora demanded to know Rocket Raccoon's plan.