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CHAPTER FOUR:

MONEY MONEY MONEY

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"LISTEN, I COULD CARE LESS whether you live or die."

Elektra scoffed as she made her way back to the main area of the prison, Peter's voice sending a shot of irritation through her veins.

The lights of the Kyln flickered on in a pale imitation of most species' circadian rhythms. Elektra crossed her arms and leaned against the railing outside her and Gamora's sleeping pod. "Oh, believe me, you made that quite clear." She snapped, glaring at the Terran.

He was still rubbing his jaw. "Still don't see why you had to punch me."

Elektra's eyebrows jumped into her hairline. "Oh. Really?"

"Quill, maybe you should—"

"Yeah, really—"

"You practically handed me over on a silver platter—"

Quill scoffed, "Please, I knew you could take him."

Elektra tilted her head and narrowed her gaze, silently trying to decipher the way this idiot's mind worked, "He's called Drax the Destroyer, you really think I had a chance—"

"I saw you take her on with no issues." Quill pointed directly at Gamora, who was currently watching the interaction without betraying any thoughts inside her head. She was alarmingly good at obscuring her emotions.

It irked her.

Jonas always said Elektra wore hers on her sleeve.

It was the main reason she was always being submitted for 'reconditioning' by Yon-Rogg.

She shivered at the memory.

Quill blew out a sigh of frustration, placing his hands on his hips, "Besides, it's not like I was gonna let him kill either of you." His eyes swung between the two, "You're the only ones who know where to sell my orb."

Gamora and Elektra shared a look, worry dancing behind the green-skinned woman's gaze before she turned to face the Terran and the walking raccoon.

Elektra continued to stew, mulling over the Terran's words as a handful of inmates began to file into the mess hall. Some were viewing holographic messages from their loved ones, crying as they saw their family for what she was sure was the first time in years.

Others were slowly picking at the beige sludge that passed as food in here, and Elektra watched them all from the perch above the hall. The guard shift had changed, but Baldy was eyeing them from across the room, his armband gleaming in the artificial light.

"How are we going to sell it when we and it are still here?" Gamora finally asked, speaking for the first time since the incident in the showers.

Quill's lips broke out into a smirk and he leaned against the railing, mirroring Elektra's pose, although he looked notably more proud and arrogant than she did. "My friend Rocket here has escaped 22 prisons."

The raccoon let out a low chuckle, "Oh, we're getting out of here." His gaze swiveled to Elektra and Quill, "And then we're headed straight to the Kree and Yondu to collect your bounties."

Her blood ran cold at the thought of being handed over to the Kree. "I have a better idea," Elektra turned to Gamora, "My buyer is willing to trade my freedom for the orb. What's yours offering?"

Gamora eyed her before flicking her gaze to the other two. She screwed her lips into a frown and inhaled sharply, like she was weighing the benefits of telling them.

"Four billion units."

"What?!"

"Holy shit—"

"Jesus—"

Elektra's eyes widened. Even split four ways, that would be more than enough to buy an untraceable ship and disappear into the galaxy.

She could finally go home.

She could finally escape.

"That orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan," Gamora met Elektra's gaze again, "You want freedom? So do I. Help me get it out of here, I'll lead you to the buyer directly and I'll split the profits four ways."

"I am Groot."

Elektra flinched as the sentient tree appeared behind the grate as if out of nowhere. Even with her limited knowledge of Groot, she could tell he was not happy about being excluded from the conversation.

"Five ways," Rocket corrected, "Asleep for the danger, awake for the money as per frickin' usual."

The raccoon's grunt of frustration drew a smile from Elektra's lips.

Elektra chose to forgo the sludge this morning, choosing instead to grab an overripe apple from the commissary. It tasted sweet and mushy and was probably radioactive, but she didn't care. It was better than whatever was in those bowls.

Quill, however, had chosen the slop, cringing with each bite.

She resisted the urge to smirk at the disgust that flickered across his face.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." She remarked, trying not to squirm at the texture inside her mouth with each bite of the apple.

Quill shot her look, "What, was kicking me in the nuts not enough?"

"For trying to sell me out to a Kylosian who's on a vengeance quest against anyone associated with Ronan or the Kree?" Elektra snapped back as fast as a whip, and she almost thought she spied a bit of remorse on Quill's face, "No. No, it's not."

He seemed to contemplate her words as he stirred around the porridge, eventually growing so disgusted with the food he shoved it aside. "Look, I wasn't going to let him hurt you."

"Could've fooled me." Elektra arched her brow and Quill bit down on his lip in frustration and scooted closer to her, his voice low.

"Look. Don't tell anyone cause it could ruin my cool guy reputation—" Elektra seriously doubted he had one, "But I actually kind of like you guys."

Something hummed in Elektra's chest at the comment and she couldn't hide the way her lips perked up slightly. So did Quill's once he caught sight of her expression. "So, I'm sorry for throwing you under the bus," His knee was nearly touching hers underneath the table, eyes wide in an expression resembling a puppy dog's, "We good?"

Elektra narrowed her gaze.

An apology was all she was after, but she wasn't about to let him off the hook that easily. "I might consider forgiving you," She watched with a smirk as Quill's expression perked up.

"Really?"

She nodded, smirk growing wider as her gaze landed on the bowl of sludge in the middle of the table, "If you can finish that without throwing up."

Quill's smile died, and Elektra resisted the urge to laugh.

"You're not serious?"

"Oh no," Her lips spread into a smile and she could see the tension stretching across Quill's wide shoulders, admiring the way the muscles twitched at the thought. "I'm completely serious. Consider it one final punishment."

He looked over at the bowl with a twinge of disgust in his eye, nose wrinkled as the smell continued to permeate the air. It smelled like roadkill, if roadkill was stewed and served for breakfast every morning.

He looked between her and the bowl, "And then we're even?"

Elektra nodded, "And then we're even."

He looked at her again, "You won't try to punch me in the dick again?"

"Well, not for this I won't," She shrugged with a smirk.

Quill seemed to ponder his choices, a soft silence between the two as he examined the bowl of beige before him. Elektra was surprised at how much fun it was to see him squirm.

Her stomach flipped over as she watched the man attempt to make a decision. Just as he was about to dump the whole bowl down his throat, his savior appeared in the form of a furball in a yellow jumpsuit.

"Quill, what the hell are you doing? That shit's disgusting."

"Yeah, seriously Quill," Elektra chimed in with a knowing smile, "What on earth were you thinking?"

She winked and Quill turned to her with an incredulous expression, "You said—"

"Shut up, you two," Rocket interjected and Elektra watched with barely contained glee as the Terran shoved the bowl of beige back into the middle of the table with a furrowed brow. Gamora sat opposite Elektra, who was now on the other side of the table thanks to Rocket weaseling his way between her and Peter. "If we are going to get out of here, we're gonna need to get in that watchtower."

Elektra turned to face the panoptic tower in the middle of the prison. It was impossible for any of them to get there without being seen. "And to do that, I'm gonna need a few things."

She suspected the security bands were priority number one.

"The guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs," Rocket recited exactly like she'd expected, "I need one."

"Leave it to me," Gamora answered immediately, eyeing the bald guard above them.

Rocket turned to the other two and gestured toward a guy with a missing leg, "That guy there, I need his prosthetic leg."

Elektra's eyes widened as she took another bite of her apple. Now that she did not expect.

"His leg?" Quill asked incredulously.

What the hell did Rocket need with a leg?

The watchtower and armbands she could see, but a prisoner's leg?

"You heard me," The raccoon snapped, turning back to the table, "God knows I don't need the rest of him, look at him, he's useless."

Elektra shook her head at the comment. Jesus, she was surrounded by assholes.

"Finally, on the wall back there, there's a black panel. Blinky yellow light, you see it?" Elektra leaned back and caught sight of the electrical panel, trying to eye a way to pry it open. If she had her tool, maybe.

"Yeah," She responded with a furrowed brow, "What is it?"

"There's a quarnyx battery behind it."

Now that drew Elektra's attention.

"Purplish box, green wires. To get into the watchtower, I definitely need that."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" She asked the rodent, who gestured to her and Gamora like the answer was obvious.

"Well, supposedly these bald bodies find you two attractive, so I'm sure you could work something out."

Elektra rolled her eyes.

Gamora stared at him, "You're joking."

"No, I really heard they find you two attractive." Rocket looked between the two women, mischief dancing behind his eyes. She wasn't sure if the raccoon was trying to be funny or an asshole. Probably both.

Either way, it wouldn't make it any easier to grab the battery.

"Look," Quill hunched forward, "It's 20 feet up in the air and it's in the middle of the most heavily-guarded part of the prison." He explained, but neither of this seemed to bother the raccoon, "It's impossible to get up there without being seen."

Rocket stared between the two of them, "I got one plan and that plan requires a frickin' quarnyx battery, so figure it out!"

A few inmates turned to face the group as Rocket's voice echoed off the walls. Elektra dipped her head to avoid the stares and let out a sigh.

The quarnyx battery illuminated a little of what the raccoon was planning, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

"Fine," She shook her head and tossed the core of her apple onto the table with a bit more force than she expected, "I'll figure it out."

Rocket grunted in what she assumed was thanks. "Can I get back to it?"

Gamora, Quill, and Elektra all shared a look before turning back to the raccoon.

"Great, now this is important," Everyone else leaned in, ignoring the rest of the inmates around them, "Once the battery is removed, everything is gonna slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly," Rocket eyed the three humanoids around him, "So you definitely need to get that last–"

An alarm blared, cutting off the rodent's speech. The group turned, and Groot smiled, the quarnyx battery in his hands.

Rocket let out a groan of frustration, "Or we could just get it first and improvise!"

"I'll get the armband," Gamora interjected.

Quill sighed, "Leg."

Elektra and Rocket pressed their heads into their hands.

"Guess I'm keeping everyone alive then." She deadpanned, watching Rocket nearly pull out his fur at the situation unfolding.

"Prisoner," A monotone voice rang out over the hall as sentinels flooded the room, "Drop the device immediately and retreat to your cell, or we will open fire."

She was really missing her bracers right about now.

Elektra watched wide eyed as the tree grew ten feet taller, pushing out his branches in response to the threat.

"I. am. GROOOOOOOT!"

Well, now she knew what Treebeard looked like when he was angry.

"Fire."

The world burst into shrapnel and gunfire.

Tree bark went flying and Elektra dodged an incoming robot Groot hurled her way. It burst into flames and prisoners scrambled to safety.

A guard rushed her and she elbowed him to the floor, knocking him out cold before he could get any closer to the tree or the raccoon.

Rocket jumped on all fours, deftly dodging the laser fire until Groot launched another sentinel into the upstairs floor. That sent the rest spinning and Elektra grabbed the raccoon by the collar and slid him up on her shoulder.

"You'll thank me later," She cut him off before he could protest and launched a kick into the stomach of one of the two guards rushing her, grabbing him by his shoulder and leg and slamming him to the ground. She grabbed the other's pistol and whipped him in the face, knocking him unconscious.

Rocket let out an impressed whistle, "I'm thanking you now!"

She resisted the urge to smirk as Rocket jumped from her shoulder to Groot's arm, scrambling up the limb until he hung around the tree's neck, "You idiot!" He yelled, drawing a moan of protest from the humanoid, "How am I supposed to fight these things without my stuff?!"

Exactly what she was thinking.

Thankfully, she didn't require guns to do the hard work for her. She tossed Rocket what was left of the guard's pistol, but he was only able to fire off a few shots before the charge exhausted itself.

Groot shielded the two of them with freshly grown branches and Elektra jumped up and grabbed hold of the railing above her. She swung herself up and around, throwing as many punches and kicks as she could to try and take out as many guards as possible.

Drax the Destroyer's gaze followed her before landing on the new set of guards who'd arrived. She couldn't pay too much attention as a pair of robotic sentinels had trained themselves on her, their shots wild and uncontrollable as she dodged each one effortlessly, never even feeling the bullets graze her skin. If they did, she certainly didn't notice. She used the rail to push herself up into the air, kicking the sentinels together before landing on her feet.

"Creepy little beast!"

Elektra turned to see the Kylosian toss a rifle just in time for Rocket to catch it.

He cocked the gun once. It was all he needed.

"Oh...yeah."

Elektra smirked as the prison sparked into gunfire once more.

She ran forward and slid underneath the guard's bullets, grabbing a loose piece of debris to use as a shield. She backhanded two guards over the railing and slammed her shoulder into another one as she shoved forward.

"Drop the leg!" Someone shouted. Elektra turned and caught sight of a familiar idiot on the other side of the upper level. "Drop the leg and return back to your cell!"

Peter's hands were held up in surrender with one giant gun pointed his way. He swung and sent one of the prisoners flying with the leg, but the guards were still on him.

Elektra spied three sentries in the air and jumped.

She used one of them as a stepping stone, launching herself forward as her hand grasped the railing, saving her from plummeting to the ground. She swung upwards with a kick, sending the guard facing Peter into the side of the prison. She crashed down onto the steel and dodged a punch from the other guard, landing a few of her own before a side kick sent him flying.

Quill simply stared at her in wonder.

"You coming, Major Tom?"

He grabbed the guard's gun and followed after her with a stupid grin on his face, "Is it bad that I'm a little turned on right now?"

Elektra disguised her laugh with a scoff.

The pair tore through prisoners and guards with laughable ease, Quill's shots quick and methodical while Elektra's punches and kicks took out larger competition.

Perhaps Quill had been right and she would have been able to take Drax in the showers.

Yon-Rogg always said she didn't know her own strength.

Turns out he was right.

"Move to the Watchtower!" Rocket shouted as they hit the ground floor. Groot planted roots near the base, allowing Elektra and Peter the chance to climb their way up. Something glowed out of the corner of her eye, veins hot with adrenaline. It disappeared as quickly as it showed up.

The pair reached the base of the ladder and Quill bobbed his head in her direction. "Go, I'll be right behind."

Elektra shook her head, something in her gut stirring at his words. The ends of her hair stood up and she slammed her fist into a guard trying to sneak up behind Quill.

"You first!" She yelled, not entirely trusting him to follow behind.

He loosed a shot behind her, the bullet finding purchase in the head of the Rajak who told her to smile. He now lay dead on the floor, one of the knives from the showers curled in his fist. "I'll cover you," Quill yelled, "Go!"

She grasped tight to the rungs of the ladder and began to climb.

True to his word, Peter did just that, firing off anyway he could with the prosthetic leg tucked underneath his chin.

She still failed to see just why Rocket needed it in the first place.

Elektra was halfway up the watchtower when a bot flew into view.

"Peter!" She yelled, but it was drowned out by a familiar war cry and the sound of wires being ripped apart. A mess of flames and sparks landed at Drax the Destroyer's feet.

"You!" He yelled, pointing his newly acquired knife at Quill, "Man who has lain with an Aaskavarian!"

Peter gritted his teeth at the reminder.

"It was one time, man."

Elektra smirked as she continued to climb, "Is there anything you won't sleep with?" She yelled down to him, dodging gunfire as Gamora held out her hand.

Elektra grasped it and pulled herself up.

"Lots of stuff!" Quill yelled back up to her. She shot him a mischievous smile as he grabbed her and Gamora's hands and pulled himself up, "I just prefer the more adventurous types."

His eyes drifted up and down her body and he winked.

Gamora's nose wrinkled in disgust.

Elektra shook her head and moved to join the rest of the group, trying to temper the blood rushing to her cheeks.

Thanks to the armband, the doors hissed open and Elektra crossed her arms as she stared down the frightened guard, who she was sure was probably pissing his pants.

His hands flew up in surrender.

Gamora and Elektra promptly threw him to the wolves. Or more accurately, the tree.

The minute Groot got a hold of him, he went flying like a ragdoll.

The door sealed shut behind them and Elektra watched Rocket get to work.

She recognized the movements he was making, the buttons he was pushing, but more importantly, she knew exactly what he was planning with that quarnyx battery.

"Why is this one here?" Gamora pointing at Drax, looking completely done with the situation.

Quill leaned forward with a semi-apologetic look, "We promised him he could stay by your side until he kills your boss."Gamora rolled her eyes and moved further away from the Kylosian. Elektra didn't blame her. "I always keep my promises, especially when they're to muscle-bound whack jobs who will kill me if I don't." Quill muttered, dropping the leg next to Rocket, "Here you go."

Rocket stared at the prosthetic for a brief moment as if suddenly remembering he'd asked for it, "Oh, I was just kidding about the leg." He dismissed with a wave of his hand, "I just need these two things."

"What?"

Elektra could almost feel the anger shaking through the Terran.

Rocket let out an uncharacteristic giggle, "No, I thought it'd be funny, was it funny?" The rodent actually stopped working for a brief moment to try and get an answer, "Wait, what did he look like hopping around?"

Elektra slapped the raccoon in the head.

"Ow!"

"I had to transfer him 30,000 units!" Quill yelled, his fists clenched at the raccoon's revelation. Elektra couldn't blame him. Rocket had done a lot of fucked up shit in the time she'd known him, but this was a whole new level of assholery.

God, she couldn't wait to be free of this place.

A spray of bullets hit the glass and she brought her arms up to her face to shield herself, but there was no sound of breaking glass or bullets through flesh.

Bullet-proof, Elektra realized with a smile.

"How are we going to leave?" Drax glared at the drones outside the glass, hands flexing as he itched to tear more apart.

Quill clenched his jaw as he turned to the rodent in the middle of the room, "Well, he's got a plan right? Or is that another thing you made up?"

Rocket's paws almost moved as fast as her own hands, pushing buttons and grabbing wires to eventually attach to the battery, "I have a plan!" He shouted as another spray of bullets attempted to pierce the glass, "I have a plan." Rocket muttered.

Elektra wondered if anyone else could hear the shaky confidence in his voice.

"Cease your yammering and relieve us from this irksome confinement." Drax snarled, gripping the knife in his hand tighter.

Elektra flinched as another barrage hit the glass and Quill stepped in front of her with his arm held out in protection, "Yeah, I'll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one."

Silence descended over the group and Gamora blew out a sigh of frustration. Drax turned to face Quill with a glare.

"Do not ever call me a thesaurus."

Elektra rolled her eyes, tuned out the bickering, and got to work. She was NOT going to die surrounded by these idiots.

She pressed past Quill and her fingers began to dance across the control panel.

"Hey, whoa!" Rocket slapped her hands away, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Speeding up your plan," She shot back, slapping the raccoon's paws in return. She began to strip wires and connect them together. The look on Rocket's face told her her intuition was correct. Her gaze flickered down toward the mess hall, where a new group of guards was incoming with what looked like rocket launchers. "We got company."

Quill leaned against the window, his arm hovering over Elektra's head, "Those are some big guns."

A volley of fire hit the glass and Elektra wobbled from the force. Quill's hand landed on her shoulder to steady her. The glass cracked from the pressure.

Elektra gulped.

She couldn't hear what the guards were saying to each other, but she doubted it was good. Her fingers worked faster, muscle memory overtaking her brain as she continued to disassemble the control panel.

"Rodent, we are ready for your plan!" Gamora yelled. The words sounded somewhere far away as Elektra locked into the task before her.

It was easy to figure out what Rocket was looking for once he mentioned the quarnyx battery.

Another volley hit the tower and Quill shielded her body with his, pulling her into his chest as they curled down to the floor. When they came back up, a fresh fissure cracked across the window.

"Thanks," She gasped out and Quill nodded as she continued to strip wires and flick switches. Rocket had commandeered the main controls while she ensured no wires were crossed.

"I recognize this animal!" Drax spoke up from behind her, "We'd roast them over a flame pit as children, their flesh was quite delicious!"

"NOT HELPING!" Elektra and Rocket turned and yelled at the Kylosian at the same time.

The guards continued to spray the glass, cracks webbing their way across the watchtower. She knew a final volley would take them down permanently.

"Three!"

Rocket muttered to himself.

"Two!"

The group erupted into chaos behind her.

"One!"

Elektra handed the raccoon the quarnyx battery just as the countdown reached zero.

He plugged the final wires into the battery with a victorious expression, and just like that...everyone except them was floating. 

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