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CHAPTER ONE:
START ME UP

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MORAG WAS EVERY BIT as miserable as she expected.

An abandoned planet once inhabited by millions of citizens, the Kree claimed it after it was overrun by the unstable oceans and muggy climate that plagued its atmosphere.

She'd even heard legends of a creature submerged within the core of the planet, the wild storms and endless rain a constant attempt to break free of its prison.

Elektra wasn't sure where she heard the legend, but it remained implanted in her memory for as long as she could remember.

Perhaps it was a story her mother used to tell her before she went to bed.

Before she was spirited away to work for monsters who'd taken her from her family and forced her to work for a race that wanted nothing more than the extermination of any culture that wasn't theirs.

First the Skrulls and now the Xandarians.

When would it end?

Never, a voice rang in her head.

Her hand flew to the golden chain around her neck, playing with the tiny star she'd worn for the last nineteen years. A nervous tick she'd never been able to shake, but Elektra found the gesture grounding. A way to remind herself that she would not be stuck here forever.

That even the most loyal of soldiers will break free and find their strength.

Elektra's gut told her that day was coming sooner rather than later.

"Remember," Korath's voice washed over the crowd of Sakaarians Ronan lent to him, his heavy Kree accent a constant reminder of why Elektra was even here in the first place, "It is only the Orb he is after. Anything else, anyone else is useless." His eyes skimmed over the platoon, every bit as menacing as the Starforce she was used to, commanding in a way reminiscent of Yon-Rogg. "No witnesses."

Made sense with how he'd served under the man.

Amber eyes flashed across her memory and she clenched her jaw.

Korath scanned the crowd once more, narrowing his gaze as the ship touched down on the rocky surface.

Elektra jolted forward with the rest of the platoon, fingers gripping tight to the hanging strap as the jet rocked.

A soft hiss of steam and the crackling of energy came from the engine. She silently cursed under her breath. She knew what her job would be as they raided the temple.

As if on cue, Korath turned to her as the doors opened to the miserable planet. Elektra raised a brow as she stared down the finger of his gauntlet, "Make sure the jet is ready to jump immediately."

She gave a mock salute and rolled her eyes, moving toward the cockpit as she grasped her all purpose tool in one hand and her mp3 player in the other.

It was a birthday gift from Jonas after Nova Corps went on a mission to Earth. It was a few years after the destruction of the Supreme Intelligence and he said it had been a peace offering from the local security team.

"It's crazy," The Corps officer had ranted on and on the last time she made a trip to Xandar for extra parts, "Apparently there's hundreds of Terran songs loaded on here. I asked around and they said these were the biggest hits of the era, and of course I added some from your favorite movies, but look, you can make playlists, put certain songs on repeat, and you don't even have to rewind tape or anything."

She'd spent the entire day learning how it worked, making playlists and sharing them with Jonas. She'd even found one made with her name already typed in.

Elektra aka Spark Plug.

She didn't need to ask who'd left it for her.

The soft sounds of rock music filled her ears as she began to work on the engines, using the pilot's seat to punch in coordinates to the nearest jump point. She scanned the planet as per protocol.

Half of Korath's team had followed him into the temple, where a heat signature she didn't recognize was currently in the heart of the structure. She pulled up the holographic map. A figure of a man in ravager clothes greeted her and her heart practically leapt at what it meant.

Where a ravager went his ship always followed.

Sure enough, she caught several Sakaarian signatures near an M-class spaceship.

One she could fly in her sleep.

The one good thing about being the lowest totem on the pole was that no one stayed back to oversee her work. She was not worthy of their attention and they clearly had more important matters to attend to.

Her stomach fluttered and her hand grasped her necklace.

BOOM!

Elektra's head spun toward the temple, which now had a Kree energy shaped hole in the side of it. A small figure blew out the side and she gulped.

This was her chance.

If you start me up

If you start me up, I'll never stop

If you start me up

If you start me up, I'll never stop

She whipped a small device from her belt and placed it on the dash of the ship.

The light began to flash red and Elektra smirked, throwing her tool in her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

Her boots slammed against the rock of the planet, following the path she saw on the holographic map.

Geysers shot off in every direction, Elektra ducking as the water doused her altered Starforce uniform. The M-class ship was within her sight and she'd almost made it without being spotted.

Almost.

"There!" One of the Sakaarians shouted and launched a blast her way.

As if on cue, the jet she'd been working on exploded into a billion pieces behind her and she used the force to launch herself over the bolt headed her way, twisting and landing on her feet.

Elektra slammed her wrists together, the vibranium echoing as a concussive blast surged from the bracers, knocking all the Sakaarians off their feet.

Elektra rushed into the Ravager ship before they woke, the sound of blaster fire and screams raging outside.

The Ravager wouldn't take kindly to stowaways so she needed to make herself scarce if she wanted off.

She didn't know how much time she had, so she got to work and quickly.

Several loose panels hid faulty wiring and modifications Elektra could only dream of, but she saw no hiding places.

Until she looked near the cockpit and saw a loose panel of flooring.

As she began to pull it up, footsteps drew her attention and she knew for sure she was fucked.

"Who are you?"

Elektra whipped her head up and met the confused gaze of a Krylorian woman wearing a white shirt too small for her over a pair of underwear.

She sputtered at the sight of the woman, "Oh, uh...I'm–"

She went flying before she could finish the sentence.

Elektra grasped tightly to one of the handles near the cockpit, legs spread out behind her as the ship entered free fall.

Something had interfered with the engines.

The Krylorian went flying back with her and Elektra grasped her wrist to keep her from slamming into the back of the ship.

Elektra's stomach flipped as they fell and she wondered what idiot she got stuck with now.

Within minutes, the jet righted itself and the two women plummeted to the ground, steel colliding with her knee and elbows.

A slight ache shot through her joints, but she could tell the Krylorian was in much worse pain than she was.

"Thank you," The pink-skinned woman gasped out, "Are you a friend of Peter's?"

Peter.

At least now she knew the name of the guy who's ship she stowed away on. Elektra shook her head inhaling sharply to catch her breath, "I was a prisoner–" She gasped, clutching her necklace once more, "--I just jumped on here to escape."

The Krylorian surveyed her with an anxious look, understanding her meaning perfectly, "He won't look in my room."

Elektra nodded in thanks and scurried towards where the woman had pointed.

The "room" she mentioned was really a small bunk, but Elektra didn't care.

For the first time since she was twelve years old she was free.

No Kree overlords or Supreme Intelligence.

No handler waiting around every corner waiting to shock her into submission.

She removed the inhibitor on the back of her neck and stomped on it, causing the device to short circuit and her location to be permanently hidden.

They could no longer track her, and she was finally able to feel the emotion rushing through her. Tears dotted her eyes as she slid against the door.

She never let go of the necklace.

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THE KRYLORIAN–Bereet, she later learned her name was–helped her sneak out once they reached Xandar, thanking her again for saving her a ton of pain back on the Ravager ship.

Most of the Xandarians gave her a wide berth upon seeing the Kree colors of her Starforce uniform and Elektra's stomach dropped.

Just because the Kree and Nova Empires had come to an agreement didn't mean the Kree were looked upon favorably. And Elektra had no desire to be associated with them.

The olive skinned woman marched through the crowds as if she was one of them, readjusting her ponytail as the dark curls swung behind her.

Her father used to tell her it was a blessing she'd come out looking like her mother and not him.

She wasn't sure she agreed.

Elektra remembered the crooked nose and freckled face of her father, his wide jaw and salt and pepper hair.

She didn't remember much of her mother. She knew she had dark hair and olive skin and a voice that would lull her to sleep even on the worst of days.

She knew her mother had given her the power that now coursed through her veins like an electric current, rarely used since she'd been stolen from Terra.

Yon-Rogg believed she, like Vers, had absorbed some of the core, but Elektra knew that was a lie.

Just like everything else the Kree had told her.

The power she wielded came from her mother, and she had to be very careful how she used it.

She didn't need Yon-Rogg coming after her again, especially after she just blew up Korath's ship and Ronan's squad.

What was that now? Three Kree she pissed off in one day?

A new record.

Whatever, they had the orb now and would soon be able to replicate the events which gave Vers her abilities.

Or whatever they were planning to do with it.

They didn't need her anymore. Even if she and the former Starforce member shared more than either would like to admit, including whatever ichor was in their veins that gave them the abilities they wielded.

She wasn't even really sure why Ronan was after the orb in the first place.

From what she saw in briefings, it looked unremarkable. Certainly not dangerous enough to warrant sending one of his best soldiers and an entire platoon of Sakaarans.

After selling what little she didn't need for a hefty sum of units and a change of clothes, she was getting ready to finally change out of her Starforce uniform when a commotion on the upper platforms caught her attention.

From what she saw, a green-skinned woman was currently engaged in a fight with a sentient tree–a flora colossus, the name came to her unbidden–while a familiar man was running away with what looked like–

"Oh you gotta be shitting me," Elektra's stomach dropped as she recognized the swirls of the orb from Morag, the silver shining in the harsh Xandarian sunlight.

The heat beat down on her brow, sweat glistening as her chest tightened.

The man she'd stowed away with had actually stolen the orb.

Which meant the Kree would come looking for him and find her.

Unless, she could get the orb herself and sell it to the right person.

Or trade it to Yon-Rogg as a way to cover her debt.

Maybe it would be enough.

A glint of steel flashed through the air and the orb crashed to the ground, rolling off the upper terrace until it landed directly at her feet.

She snatched it up and ran.

"Get her too!" Someone yelled over the crowd, but she didn't pay attention to who it was, weaving in and out between people until she was accosted by a figure in black leather.

Her eyes widened as she realized who'd tackled her to the ground.

Gamora, daughter of Thanos.

She was the green-skinned woman she saw fighting the tree.

"Goddammit!" Elektra rolled out of the way of her sword, scrambling to her knees as Gamora continued to swing, "You, Ronan, Thanos, is there anybody who isn't fighting over this thing?"

Gamora narrowed her eyes, "We both have the same goal, now give it to me."

Elektra arched a brow, brown eyes gleaming at the urgent look on the woman's face. There was no way in hell she was going to give away her ticket to freedom so easily. "I don't think so."

Gamora dodged her punch with ease and the two women fought back and forth, Elektra rolling out of the way of her kick before sweeping her legs, using her hand to stabilize her.

The daughter of the mad titan slammed the ground and Elektra rushed through the crowd.

Red flashed out of the corner of her vision and Elektra blocked the incoming kick with her bracers, absorbing the energy into the vibranium with each hit from the Ravager.

She threw a punch his way and he wrapped his arm around hers with a cocky smile, ripping the orb from her hands.

"Thanks for the help, Princess."

Rage coursed through her veins at the nickname and she used her legs to twist out of his grip and wrap his arm around his back. Regrettably it was the wrong arm.

His green eyes widened in stunned shock at her sheer strength and she smirked, "I'm no princess."

A swift kick to his back sent him flying.

Elektra strode forward only to dodge out of the way of a sword arcing down towards her.

"For christ's sake!" She exclaimed, dodging another several swings as Gamora stood between her and the Ravager. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the tree and what looked like a raccoon smuggling the Ravager in a bag big enough for multiple humans. She blocked an incoming blow with her bracers before jerking her head in their direction.  "Looks like your bounty's getting away."

Gamora turned and pushed Elektra away with a kick. The brunette stabilized herself and readied her bracers for when all four of them were in the same area.

She watched Gamora push the raccoon to the side and slice the limbs off the Flora Colossus, landing a final blow to the tree trunk.

She pulled her sword free and moved toward the bag, where the Ravager shot off a blast of electricity which sent the green woman writhing to the ground with a yell.

He scrambled out of the bag and ran, but he didn't get far.

"Oh no you don't–"

"I live for the simple things, like how much this is gonna hurt."

At the same time Elektra brought her wrists together, the raccoon fired off a blast of blue energy and the force of the two colliding sent a wave washing over the five of them, causing the Ravager, the raccoon, the tree, and Elektra to collapse to the ground from the force of her own blast.

The Ravager had the added pain of the blue energy from the rodent's gun.

Her ears rang as bright yellow light shone from a star shaped ship.

"Subject 89P13, drop your weapon!"

Great.

"By the authority of the NovaCorps you are under arrest..."

Elektra tuned out the rest of the spiel and lifted her hands in surrender.

Well, freedom was nice while it lasted.

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