Chapter Summaries

Chen Mo arrived at the watchtower just as Gamora, Star-Lord, and the others were about to be attacked by prison guards, and quickly rescued them. After killing the guard who had sided with Thanos, Chen Mo destroyed the guard drones surrounding him, leaving the group safe for the moment.

• Rocket Raccoon struggled to connect wires as the prison guards prepared to fire another rocket at the watchtower.
• Chen Mo charged into the armed guards, knocking them down and preventing them from attacking Gamora and the others.
• Star-Lord recognized Chen Mo and proudly told the group that his boss had arrived to save him.
• Chen Mo killed the fleeing prison guard who had sided with Thanos with a blast from his Arc Pulse Cannon.
• Chen Mo let the guard drones' bullets bounce off his armor, then used Micro Auto-tracking Missiles to destroy the drones surrounding him.

Chen Mo destroyed the guard drones attacking the watchtower, and Gamora confirmed that he had wiped out the Chitauri Legion. With Rocket Raccoon’s escape plan ruined, Chen Mo led the group out of Kyln Prison.

• Chen Mo destroyed the guard drones threatening the watchtower while Star-Lord told the others about his past victories.
• Rocket Raccoon doubted that Chen Mo could have defeated the Chitauri Legion, but Gamora confirmed that the legion had been wiped out during its invasion of Earth.
• Rocket Raccoon realized Chen Mo had destroyed the drones his escape plan depended on, leaving the watchtower unable to escape as planned.
• Chen Mo landed outside the watchtower, and Star-Lord opened the gate and welcomed him.
• Chen Mo told the group to leave, and Rocket Raccoon abandoned his plan, grabbed the Kornis battery and security armband, and followed them.

Chen Mo and Star-Lord returned through the prison to recover Star-Lord’s stolen walkman while the others headed to the ship with the Orb. After reclaiming it, Star-Lord took revenge on the blue-skinned guard who had tortured him.

• Chen Mo led the group out of the prison block, and they recovered their clothes, weapons, and the Orb from storage.
• Star-Lord discovered his mother’s walkman was missing and decided to return for it with Chen Mo, while the others went to his ship.
• Star-Lord and Chen Mo fought their way past prison guards, with Star-Lord using arc rounds to disable them.
• Star-Lord found the blue-skinned guard listening to his walkman and reclaimed it at gunpoint.
• Star-Lord remembered the guard’s torture, grabbed an electric baton, and shocked him.

Star-Lord and Chen Mo escaped Kyln Prison, then flew through space to rejoin the Milano. After the crew reunited, Drax praised Star-Lord and asked what he had gone back to retrieve.

• Star-Lord repeatedly shocked a blue-skinned guard with a stun baton before he and Chen Mo continued through the prison, taking down more guards along the way.
• Star-Lord and Chen Mo reached the landing platform, discovered the Milano had already left, and escaped Kyln Prison through its airlock.
• As they flew through space, Star-Lord noticed Chen Mo's armor protected him from the cold and copied his flying posture.
• Rocket Raccoon and Gamora argued about whether to leave without the Orb until Drax spotted Star-Lord and Chen Mo flying toward the Milano.
• Gamora and Drax opened the Milano's inner airlock and pulled Star-Lord aboard, where Drax praised his courage and asked what he had gone back to get.

After Chen Mo explained why Star-Lord risked returning for his Walkman, Gamora remembered Thanos’s murder of her family and vowed to kill him. The Milano left Kyln Prison, which Chen Mo expected Ronan to destroy.

• Star-Lord gave Drax his Walkman, and Chen Mo explained that it had been a gift from Star-Lord’s mother.
• Drax understood Star-Lord’s attachment to the Walkman and thought of his murdered wife and daughter.
• Gamora recalled how Thanos killed her family, raised her as a weapon, and gave her the dagger she carried.
• Gamora vowed to use Thanos’s dagger to avenge her family and people.
• Chen Mo watched Kyln Prison recede, decided not to interfere with Ronan’s coming attack, and Rocket Raccoon piloted the Milano away from the asteroid field.

Rocket Raccoon dismantled parts of the Milano to build a powerful weapon as the Guardians recovered from their escape and headed toward the Orb’s buyer. Star-Lord stopped him from disturbing his late mother’s unopened birthday gift, while Nova Corps reinforcements and a huge warship raced toward Kyln Prison.

• Rocket Raccoon steered the Milano away from Xandar, then turned toward the Orb’s buyer after escaping Nova Corps pursuit.
• Nova Corps headquarters dispatched a fleet to support Kyln Prison as a massive warship also sped toward the prison.
• Rocket Raccoon searched the Milano’s parts and began assembling a high-powered weapon, hoping to protect the crew during their deal.
• Star-Lord confronted Rocket Raccoon for dismantling his ship and warned him not to touch the bomb or the ribboned box in the storage drawer.
• Chen Mo recognized the box as Star-Lord’s unopened birthday gift from his late mother, and Rocket Raccoon proudly described his weapon as something that could blow up a satellite.

Star-Lord sought Chen Mo’s approval to abandon the original target and sell the Orb to Gamora’s buyer, then tried to build trust among the crew by asking Gamora what she knew about it. Drax nearly caused a fight over the Orb, but Star-Lord kept the group together and counted Chen Mo among them.

• Gamora objected to Rocket Raccoon’s plan to blow up a satellite, and Rocket continued assembling it for use against warships.
• Star-Lord told Chen Mo about Gamora’s buyer and his plan to make a deal, and Chen Mo approved.
• Star-Lord asked Gamora for the buyer’s coordinates, but she withheld them and challenged how much he trusted her.
• Star-Lord tested Gamora by calling the Orb a weapon, but she said she did not know what it was.
• Drax picked up the Orb and proposed using it against Ronan, prompting Gamora to argue with him until Star-Lord stopped them.
• Star-Lord counted Rocket, Groot, Drax, Gamora, and Chen Mo as part of the group as he reminded them they owed their survival to Chen Mo.

The Guardians agreed to split the Orb’s sale money five ways after Star-Lord revealed that Chen Mo had helped defeat Ronan’s forces. As Gamora and Rocket piloted the Milano toward the buyer, Star-Lord asked Chen Mo whether he could beat Drax and concluded that Chen Mo must have undergone physical enhancement.

• Rocket Raccoon stayed quiet about splitting the money after remembering how Chen Mo had saved the prison escape.
• Star-Lord told Gamora that Chen Mo had taken the Orb from Ronan’s soldiers and defeated Kylas, and Gamora agreed to split the proceeds five ways.
• Gamora spotted a mess on the Milano and called the ship disgusting, while Rocket complained about Star-Lord’s habits.
• Gamora and Rocket took over piloting the Milano as Star-Lord organized his equipment.
• Star-Lord asked Chen Mo whether he could defeat Drax without weapons, and Chen Mo said he could.
• Star-Lord asked whether Chen Mo had undergone physical enhancement.

Star-Lord asked Chen Mo whether the Allies had developed an enhancement method powerful enough to account for his strength, and Chen Mo confirmed his suspicion. Star-Lord asked to receive the same enhancement, leaving Chen Mo to consider how the Super Soldier Serum might affect Star-Lord’s dormant Celestial bloodline.

• Star-Lord reasoned that the Allies had created an advanced enhancement method after comparing Chen Mo, Captain America, and Captain Carter with enhancement techniques in the Milky Way.
• Star-Lord weighed mechanical and genetic modifications, recalling that Thanos had strengthened Gamora through biochemical modification while turning much of Nebula into machinery.
• After realizing he needed greater strength to face Ronan and Thanos, Star-Lord concluded that the Allies’ enhancement surpassed the best methods in the Milky Way, and Chen Mo confirmed it.
• Star-Lord excitedly asked Chen Mo to give him the same enhancement.
• Chen Mo considered Star-Lord’s weakness and worried that the Super Soldier Serum might interact unpredictably with his dormant Celestial bloodline, though previous tests on nonhuman animals had caused no problems.

Chen Mo gave Star-Lord the Enhanced Super Soldier Serum, deciding that its benefits outweighed any risk to his inherited divine powers. Star-Lord endured the painful transformation, and Chen Mo confirmed that his body was handling it without adverse reactions.

• Chen Mo considered whether Super Soldier Serum enhancement could interfere with Star-Lord's divine powers, then decided to enhance him.
• Chen Mo gave Star-Lord the Enhanced Super Soldier Serum and warned him that the transformation would be extremely painful.
• Star-Lord injected the serum, confident he could endure the pain and trusting Chen Mo completely.
• The pain overwhelmed Star-Lord, who collapsed; Chen Mo used telekinesis to move him onto a sofa bed and monitor his body.
• Chen Mo observed that Star-Lord showed no rejection or adverse reactions to the serum's transformation.

Star-Lord endured the Enhanced Serum transformation and discovered that it had made him stronger, taller, and more handsome. He began testing his new strength aboard the Milano, but had not yet learned its limits.

• Chen Mo observed Star-Lord's body changing as the Enhanced Serum strengthened him, and Star-Lord endured nearly twenty minutes of intense pain without crying out.
• After the transformation, Star-Lord admired his larger muscles and tore his shirt sleeve while flexing his arm.
• Chen Mo told Star-Lord to shower and change, and Star-Lord noticed that his face had become more handsome in the mirror.
• Star-Lord went to the storage room to test his strength and lifted two ten-kilogram dumbbells at once, nearly hitting himself because he used too much force.

After taking the Super Soldier Serum, Star-Lord discovered that his strength, speed, reactions, and endurance had greatly improved. The others came down to find him eating energy bars and were startled by his changed appearance, leaving Rocket Raccoon and Drax trading threats about eating one another.

• Star-Lord tested his enhanced strength and speed with dumbbells and punches, then decided to improve his combat skills so he could defeat Gamora.
• After an intense workout, Star-Lord felt hungry and went to the lounge to eat energy bars.
• Rocket Raccoon smelled the food and headed down from the cockpit, while Gamora and Drax followed; Groot stayed behind to watch The Starry Night.
• Rocket Raccoon saw Star-Lord's transformed appearance and shouted, asking if he had eaten Quill.
• Gamora and Drax prepared to fight the apparent stranger, but Drax mistook him for Quill's more handsome brother.
• Star-Lord identified himself and insulted Rocket Raccoon, while Drax recalled eating a roasted raccoon and said he could twist Rocket's neck instead.

Rocket Raccoon and Gamora realized Star-Lord had been dramatically enhanced while they piloted the ship and suspected Chen Mo had given him the upgrade. They envied Star-Lord’s newfound strength and hoped they might someday earn Chen Mo’s favor too.

• Rocket Raccoon questioned whether the transformed man was really Star-Lord, and Drax and Gamora lowered their weapons as they accepted his identity.
• Rocket Raccoon and Gamora concluded that Chen Mo was the only person aboard who could have given Star-Lord such an advanced enhancement.
• Star-Lord kept eating energy bars while Rocket Raccoon and Gamora sensed that his strength now rivaled Gamora’s.
• Rocket Raccoon and Gamora envied Star-Lord’s easy gains but recognized that they had only just met Chen Mo and might not qualify for an enhancement.

Rocket Raccoon and Gamora realized Chen Mo’s enhancement could make them much stronger, so they decided to stay close to him and Star-Lord. Star-Lord easily beat Rocket Raccoon in an arm-wrestling match and challenged Gamora, who accepted.

• Rocket Raccoon and Gamora hoped to earn Chen Mo’s approval and receive enhancement, and resolved to stick with him and Star-Lord.
• Rocket Raccoon asked Star-Lord how strong he had become, and Star-Lord claimed he could knock down the blue giant with one punch.
• Star-Lord challenged Rocket Raccoon to an arm-wrestling match, and Drax counted them in as referee.
• Star-Lord defeated Rocket Raccoon almost instantly, prompting Drax to declare him the winner.
• Star-Lord challenged Gamora, and she accepted before Rocket Raccoon urged her to take him down.

Star-Lord arm-wrestled Rocket Raccoon and Gamora, defeating both after realizing his strength had greatly increased. Drax then beat Star-Lord, while Gamora and Rocket Raccoon marveled at his enhancement and the group looked to Chen Mo.

• Drax teased Rocket Raccoon after beating him, while Gamora challenged Star-Lord to arm-wrestling.
• Star-Lord used his full strength to defeat Gamora, prompting Drax to praise him and Star-Lord to challenge Drax.
• Drax claimed that animals and women relied on speed and technique before arm-wrestling Star-Lord.
• Drax forced Star-Lord's arm onto the table, and Rocket Raccoon and Gamora realized Star-Lord had become far stronger than before.
• Drax declared himself the strongest on the ship, and Star-Lord, Gamora, and Rocket Raccoon looked toward Chen Mo.

Drax challenged Chen Mo to a fight, and Chen Mo stepped out of his Iron Man suit before responding. Star-Lord, Gamora, and Rocket Raccoon saw Chen Mo’s youthful appearance and advanced armor for the first time, while Rocket became fascinated by the suit’s mechanical design.

• Drax recognized Chen Mo and challenged him to a fight, prompting Star-Lord and the others to watch for Chen Mo’s response.
• Chen Mo stood and stepped out of his Iron Man suit, revealing his youthful appearance and imposing physique to Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and Star-Lord.
• Gamora wondered whether Chen Mo’s enhancement had also given him an ageless appearance.
• Rocket Raccoon studied the suit’s transformation and armor, concluding that its material and mechanical design surpassed what he had expected.

Chen Mo tested his strength against the Guardians of the Galaxy and easily defeated Drax, then warned him that he could not beat Ronan. After Chen Mo stored his Iron Man suit away, the others were left astonished.

• Chen Mo arm-wrestled Drax and effortlessly forced his arm down, stunning Star-Lord and the others.
• Gamora realized Chen Mo was vastly stronger than Drax and wondered whether he could stand against Ronan or Thanos.
• Chen Mo assessed the Guardians' abilities and recognized their potential as another Avengers team.
• Chen Mo warned Drax that he was no match for Ronan, but Drax insisted he would avenge his wife and daughter.
• Chen Mo returned to the sleeping quarters and stored his Iron Man suit away, leaving Rocket Raccoon and the others bewildered.

The Guardians’ journey continued as Star-Lord trained with Gamora and Chen Mo’s abilities left the crew impressed. They reached Place of Nothingness, where Star-Lord realized Gamora’s buyer might be The Collector, Tivan.

• Rocket Raccoon and Gamora reacted with amazement to Chen Mo instantly storing his Iron Man suit, while Drax took Chen Mo’s warning about Ronan seriously.
• Star-Lord asked Gamora to teach him close-combat techniques, and she found that his enhanced physical abilities surpassed hers in many respects.
• Star-Lord used training sessions to flirt and secretly touch Gamora, while Rocket Raccoon noticed his behavior.
• Rocket Raccoon announced the ship was about to land, and the crew saw a skull-shaped fortress floating in yellow-green cosmic dust.
• Gamora identified the fortress as Place of Nothingness, and Star-Lord asked if their buyer was The Collector, Tivan.

Star-Lord and the others learned that The Collector had offered different prices for the Orb and Gamora, then traveled to Knowhere, the vast mining colony built inside a Celestial’s skull. They arrived at the spaceport and headed toward The Collector while Gamora explained what the Tivan Group harvested there.

• Star-Lord realized The Collector had offered Yondu’s team only one million to retrieve the Orb and cursed him for using them as cannon fodder.
• Rocket Raccoon explained that hunters’ ranks affected their pay and mocked Star-Lord’s low bounty.
• Rocket Raccoon piloted the Milano through the Celestial skull’s eye socket and into Knowhere, while Chen Mo wondered whether the dead Celestial had left anything that could strengthen him.
• Star-Lord and the others landed at Knowhere’s spaceport and saw its crowded industrial city built inside the skull.
• Gamora explained that Knowhere was a colonial mining site where the Tivan Group harvested valuable organic matter, bones, brain tissue, and spinal fluid.

Gamora led Chen Mo, Star-Lord, Drax, and Groot through Knowhere’s dangerous mining district to meet a representative of The Collector. At the Eye Bar, Drax and the others discovered a brutal beast-fighting arena while they waited.

• Gamora explained that the black-market value of ancient Celestial remains came from their potential use in strength-enhancing potions, then led the group through Knowhere’s hazardous mining settlement.
• Star-Lord boasted about Earth outlaws, and Drax said he wanted to visit Star-Lord’s lawless homeworld.
• A little girl approached Groot, who grew a small white flower and offered it to her.
• The group reached the Eye Bar, where Gamora said they would meet The Collector’s representative.
• Drax and the others found a beast-fighting arena inside the bar, where patrons bet on lizard-like monsters fighting to the death.