2179/Picking Up Gamora

Picking Up Gamora
Date of Scene:	26 August 2017
Location:	Planet H'rrash, Outer Space
Synopsis:	The Guardians pick up Gamora, whom they kind of left when they got distracted with Brainiac.
Cast of Characters:	Gamora, Star-Lord, Gothic Lolita, Indigo, Angela

---

Gamora has posed:
    The planet H'rrash was not a very nice planet. Mostly, because it's a place where fugitives go, where space pirates breed, and where assassins get jobs. The outer atmosphere is one of questionable sustainability given all the electric storms and sulphuric content of most of the planet.
    And that's why places like this were dug out, domed. Insulated, from the planet's atmospheres. The law didn't like to come here. Too much risk to equipment. Too hard to get out. And, of course, the fact that nearly every person on the planet would be out to get them.
    All of these things made it a perfect place for Gamora to track down a lead for some supplies and weapons she wanted to grab for the Milano. She'd told the rest of the crew to finish whatever they were doing and swing back and pick her up. She'd be a day or two. Easy job.
    That was ... a few weeks ago.
    Presently, Gamora is sitting just outside the port. And, she is waiting. Because if she doesn't wait, she'll be hunting Quill down, not having yet heard of the scourge that kept the Milano away, and the threat to the crew.
    The small little tent she'd claimed for herself had notches in one of the poles. Fresh notches. And, there is a veritable pile of guns around her. All, impossibly clean. All recently - acquired. And about as clean as they came out of the factory. Gamora has run out of things to do.

Star-Lord has posed:
Now Playing: https://youtu.be/hwZNL7QVJjE

The Milano is en route. Granted, there was a lot of bad things that just happened so the choice of music is completely on purpose. Peter Quill, aka the Legendary Star-Lord, is at the controls as he always is whenever he doesn't have the chance to argue with Rocket. They'll probably have to pick him up next. he's pretty focused on making sure that The Milano is entering the atmosphere and headed for Gamora's location in the most casual way possible.
Fly too fast and people want to shoot at you. Fly too slow and people think you're about to shoot at them. Somehow, though, Quill has mastered the art of flying just right. Perhaps he's had one too many run-ins with the Goldilocks story.
Peter leans back while The Milano is doing its descent thing and just kind of bops around to the music. He looks relaxed, for the first time in what seems like a long time, considering that he's probably going to get more than an earful from Gamora when they finally touch down. Oh well. Bridges. Deal. When Crossed. That whole thing.
"Hey, somebody run a scan for me? Just, y'know, to make sure we're not about to get ambushed or somethin'? I'm tired of getting ambushed. It's starting to lose its flair, y'know?" And more importantly, "Oh! Turn it up! This is the best part!" And there goes Peter, singing along with Ben E. King.
Oh Brother.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita hasn't met Gamora, obviously. The petite gynoid is a newcomer for the Milano, only there perhaps a month at this point, after they saved her from being kidnapped as a new exhibit for the Collector...which then led to Indigo's kidnapping by him and...many, many bad things. She's been actually resting while her body repairs internal damage caused by the aftermath of that, and she's been trying to get in the way or interrupt Viridian and Indigo and their own recovery. So she's mostly been shadowing Peter around as she tries to learn more about the Milano's systems, and, of course, to hear him talk about his many adventures with and without the Guardians, something she seems to have endless patience and interest for.

    It's towards the end of one of those stories, however, that Peter brought up Gamora, and her mission. Which prompted the dark-haired mecha, after a moment of though, to comment. "...wait. Wouldn't that mean you were supposed to pick her up two weeks ago?"

    Annnnd that brings us to where she is now, which is daintly perched at one of the stations on the bridge. She smiles at the music, then answers. "Of course, Captain My Captain...running scans now." She's figured this part out, at least, but then, she got a lot of practice during the situation with Brainiac 8. "There are quite a few power sources, some of which are leaking at semi-dangerous levels, and quite a few independently powered weapon systems, but none of them seem to be in active tracking modes." she reports. "And none of the ships appear to be powering up their engines or weapons in an untoward manner. I think we may be able to avoid the excitement of being amushed perhaps."

Indigo has posed:
    "Thank you, Gothic Lolita," Indigo says quietly. Even the electronic hum under her voice is subdued. It goes with her new outfit; gone is the rubber croptop and miniskirt Peter found her floating in space wearing, replaced with the red jacket and black pants of a Ravager. Her once bouncy pink hair is now a bit of a crow's nest. Her gaze is locked on the targeting sensors from her spot in the gunner's chair.

Gamora has posed:
    "Touch it, and lose an arm," Gamora snaps at a curious pirate walking by. The man immediately recognizes Gamora from - well, her 'adventures' in acquiring such guns. Most of the pirates on the planet have decided to rather stay away from The Most Dangerous Woman In The Galaxy after she nearly eliminated an entire base that had tried to take her captive. They were ill-prepared. She wasn't.
    The man recoils, and moves quickly on his way, and then Gamora hears the familiar noise of the Milano's engines.
    She stands up, moves forward, and she very slowly folds her arms over her chest. She does not have to put on a grumpy face. Her face may have frozen in that expression over the last week or so, as the time waned, more, and more.
    One foot slightly in front of the other at shoulder width, the girl in green skin and black leathers waits. And, starts to make final mental decisions on how bad Quill is in trouble. It's probably something she's thought about a lot, recently.

Star-Lord has posed:
    Why does the song always end when the Milano lands? It's almost like this is a movie or something. There's a long pause after The Milano lands before the ramp gets lowered. Quill's taking his sweet time doing this because he's just not the kind of guy that likes to rush off to his death. Besides, he's got to get his thoughts together.
    And his hair. He stops to check his hair the moment he gets out of his seat. Another stall tactic or something? Who knows.

    "Okay. So there's a good chance I'm about to die right now. Which, y'know, is fine. I mean, it's not fine but it'll be fine. Indigo will be the new Captain." Quill looks like he's kidding but he doesn't sound like he's kidding. Or vice versa. It's awkward. He takes another step towards the back of the ship and then looks back at the crew. "And just make sure you scrape up what's left of me off the ground out here, huh? Give me a true Ravager send off?"
    Soon enough, Peter Quill is coming down the ramp looking as Han Solo as he possibly can. Arms out stretched and the biggest smile he can muster up on such scared notice. "Gamora! Man, you would not believe the trouble we got into trying to get here. I mean, seriously, you would not believe it. It's so insane and so terrifying that I don't even wanna' bring it up again." Walking and Talking Star-Lord. In Stores Now! "So how about we just get you and your gear back on the ship where you belong and we just fly on outta' here before some of these weirdos realize how much our collective bounties are worth?"
    Gulp.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    At Indigo's soft comment, the other gynoid's bue eyes flick over to her. "Lolita is fine, Indigo. Or Loli, if you'd like to shorten it further." she says, in a tone of gentle reminder. She adds. "I think it will be quicker to duck when you're giving me a warning, at least, if it's a bit shorter." There's a faint hint of wryness in her tone, but a quiet concern in her eyes as well. She's well aware neither Indigo or Viridian is taking what happened well...nor should they, she supposes. She's just not quite sure what to do to try and help. Well, other than suggesting they take a proper honeymoon/vacation to give them times to sort themselves out, but she's a little worried about them being away from the rest of the crew currently. Family helps, she thinks.

    She turns back to Peter, looking slightly alarmed, before she slides to her feet, starting to follow him after. "...she wouldn't -really- do that, would she?" she whispers to Indigo, before hurrying to catch up as Peter is already halfway down the ramp. However, she herself stops at the bottom, her thoughtful gaze going to Gamora as she takes in both the other woman, and the pile of weapons, before sending a signal aboard the ship, borrowing some of Viridian's recently weaponized roombas to begin zipping down the ramp to assist with moving things in. If Peter was Lando, she'd be Lobot, apparently. But he's Han. So she really has no idea where this metaphor is going.

Indigo has posed:
    The Milano sounds familiar, but it looks very different. It's more heavily armored, and it's fairly bristling with guns. Gamora could be forgiven for thinking it's a trap (probably not for her, unless the would-be ambushers think her too witless to know the Milano when she sees it) until the cargo hold's ramp opens and there's Quill, Gothic Lolita walking along at his side for his protection, having been quietly assured by Indigo, "No. He's more afraid of disappointing her than of being attacked by her." She had started to get out of her chair to protect Peter, but Gothic Lolita was faster; no point. She elected instead to stay at her position and... think about things.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora just glares at Peter. She doesn't move a single muscle. She doesn't even seem to be breathing. Then, her eyes track the little roomba robots, picking up her stockpile of weapons that she's gathered from types that might seem more a sniper-rifle, to full out automatic laser rifles, hand guns, and other more strange weapons - likely at least one of which has a vaporizer within it.
    Her eyes look over to Gothic Lolita. And then, to Peter. Meaningfully.
    "Yes. I can see. -Terribly- busy. -Immense- trouble."
    Gamora. Jumping to conclusions. At least she hasn't changed.

Star-Lord has posed:
    "Heh."
    Even Peter doesn't know how that worked. Instead, he just kind of steps aside so that Gamora can travel back onto the Milano with the weapons. Also, so that he can look as dumbfounded and foolish as the day he even came up with that sorry excuse. He's trying to figure out if she cut him in half so fast that he didn't even notice it. Like he's just waiting to fall apart or something. He even looks down at his stomach to make sure he's not splitting apart.
    The look on his face is decidedly: '/HOW/' but he doesn't say anything. Instead, he just kind of frowns. A little bit.
    "Last time I'll be late. Promise." Just in case she needs to hear that. Or maybe it's more that he needs to make an effort to make sure she knows that he's going to make an effort. Or something.
    Peter immediately gives the A-OK sign to whatever camera he's sure Indigo is watching through.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita raises a brow faintly at the glance her way, but is a little more relaxed when no stabbing happens. She explains a bit more, for Gamora's benefit, however, wanting to help. Hopefully. "The captain left out some salient details, but essentially, our crewmmate Indigo was kidnapped and we needed to get her back."

    Yes, that was the important part of that whole adventure...getting Indigo back. The whole massive skullship out to break reality so Brainiac 8 could become a god? Not as important.

    "She's back safe, however, and recovering." she adds, then curseys gracefully to the green woman. "My name is Gothic Lolita...the crew of the Milano saved me from a similar kidnapping, and were kind enough to let me stay." Not that the petite gynoid looks like she'd as rough and ready as might be expected for a member of the Guardians. She looks a little elegant for their sort of work. Mostly. There's probably some reason Peter keeps around a cute gynoid, right? Toooootally not going to add to Gamora's leaping over and past any conclusions.

Indigo has posed:
    Indigo's thousand-mile stare is focused on the ship's targeting systems, but the sound of the roombas rolling in doesn't escape her notice. It can't, really: she's almost incapable of being absent-minded. Even if she didn't fundamentally want to be helpful, going to the cargo hold and helping carry things would take her mind off stuff, so she heads quietly down to the cargo hold and helps the bots collect things. When she spots Gamora, she lifts her hand in a gesture slightly too stationary to be a wave; her gaze was always shy, but nor it rises no higher than Gamora's shoulders. The cheerful girl whom Gamora once yelled at for being so naive as to invite a friend onto the ship is not in evidence.

Gamora has posed:
    After the first dozen guns are picked up, she looks directly at Gothic Lolita, "Of course he let you stay." Because Peter's superhuman ability seems to be finding pretty girls, and inviting them onto the ship and becoming a member of their team, apart from finding trouble. "There's other supplies in the crates. Power cells. Rations."
    And, as if to remind Peter what she's capable of, or because she's just still upset and she doesn't have anyone to fight to beat her rage out on, she grabs the largest of these containers which is full of power cells and not the lightest load, and begins to walk up the ramp into the Milano.
    On her way back, she pauses, jaw clenched, and she looks at Peter, evenly. "I see you modified the ship."
    The words are tight. But the fact she's not threatening to run him through with Godslayer, or that she might leave the team may be a good sign that she's at least granting him an additional chance to live up to that promise.

Angela has posed:
    For the most part, two things are good rules of thumb for dealing with Angela: 1) She often likes to be left alone; and 2) Interrupt her alone time at your own risk. But even someone as perpetually severe as Angela isn't completely immune to the lure of curiosity. So, while it takes her a bit of time, when the Milano finally makes landfall at H'rrash, eventually the wingless angel emerges; the steady sound of metal on metal ringing out with her every step announces the huntress' arrival, a thoughtful frown creasing her lips as her white eyes sweep the landing bay. Somehow, that frown just manages to deepen all the more.

    "This place is filthy," she observes, helpfully. Her right hand falls upon the pommel of her short sword like a reflex reaction to being in a filthy place. Normally, 'filth' inevitably leads to 'disemboweling'; Angela just likes to be ahead of the curve.

    Eventually, though, that solid white stare falls upon Gamora. And her many armaments.

    "Oh," she states, brows lifting a fraction. "Gamora. You've been busy." A second passes in contemplative silence.

    "I approve."

    With that, the angel makes her way forward to help with loading a ship. She doesn't mention she expects compensation; she just feels it should be expected by now. She only stops to look back at Quill for a brief, quiet moment before walking off anew.

    "She didn't kill you yet," she points out, helpfully, as if Peter might still be wondering if it's actually happened yet. Just in case.
    

Star-Lord has posed:
    "Uh... only for the rescue mission! Like, it was insane. We needed all this stuff. We're gonna', um, put her back the way she was. Might keep a couple extra cannons? But she's gonna' be Home again. Yes, she is."
    Peter is quite quick with the explanations at this point because he's trying to stay on the side of Godslayer that's not the side that will make him into death paste. In fact, he quite likes living and stuff. And it's only then does he realize he's standing around and not actually doing anything. He's not doing anything at all. To help. With, y'know, the crates.
    So Peter snatches up the first thing he can lift, the lightest thing of course, and moves with the quickness to carry it onto the ship. That's what happens when you're the weakest Captain in the history of space.
    Being (part-)human kind of sucks for this kind of work. At the words of Angela, Peter waits until she's not looking and makes a 'nyah' face at her. Then goes back to the loading of the ship.
    "Man, it feels good to have everybody back together, right? We should like, celebrate. A vacation! Yeah, we should go on vacation." And talking. Peter can't stop talking. "To uh, hm, Space Wally World. There's an amusement park planet, right?" Anyone? Anyone?

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita blinks at Gamora, turning to watch her as she stalks past. "...oh." she says after a moment of though, though a faint teasing curve comes to her lips. That's a new thing to be suggested about her...she can't help but be deeply amused by it, nonetheless. Then again, Peter -does- seem to attract pretty girls. She always assumed that was just that Starlord charisma though.

    She nods to Angela in greeting, her lips widening into a pleasant smile as she comes down to help. "Hello...we didn't disturb you, did we?" she says, walking over to the remaining boxes. After Angela selects the ones she wants to carry, Loli just stacks the remainder and lifts the whole batch, walking back towards the ramp as she carefully balances them. "Is, ah, Miss Gamora always so...grumpy?" she asks the wingless angel thoughfully. "Or did I just...cause some issue." she adds, more delicately.

Indigo has posed:
    "Riza 3 is a tropical world whose economy is primarily tourism- and entertainment-based," Indigo answers Quill quietly. When did she get behind Peter? "It's a moon-sized planetoid, so the gravity is much less than what most of us are accustomed to, but its atmosphere is perfectly palatable to every biological crewmember." With that information deposited, she takes one of the heavier crates and slides it securely into a corner to anchor with some packing straps.

Gamora has posed:
    If Gamora has heard Lolita -- which she probably has, she does not call out the gynoid on it. The power cells deposited, Gamora looks to Peter. "Amusement Park?" She is still quite grumpy. And, now? Now she's very, very suspicious. Grumpy, and suspicious does not make for a good mood for Gamora.
    Coupled with the additions to the ship itself, and the crew, too many changes for Gamora all at once. At least, presently.
    She looks to Indigo. "I need to make sure I've calibrated all these weapons properly so that we can use them effectively. Does this Riza 3 sport a battle simulation for heavy artillery and fighting?" Because that's what Gamora -really- needs right now. A fight. To work out all this aggression.
    She exhales, frowns. She looks to Indigo. The girl in green had not missed, despite her rage, that Indigo -had- changed. "Glad you're still with us. Peter can't cook to save his life."

Angela has posed:
    Peter makes a face. Angela pauses. Turns around. By the time she looks, though, he's already loading the ship again. She squints. Very... slowly.

    "Hrmph," she grunts, before she goes back to hefting up those heavy supplies into one improbably large pile. Fortunately, she's distracted from her suspicions by a more pressing concern:

    "What is this 'amusement park,' Lord of Stars?"

    For now, though, she just sets about stoically loading the Milano. When Lolita voices her worry, Angela's answer is a simple, to the point "No," before she makes her way back. She looks towards Lolita. Then to Gamora. Her brows furrow.

    "Lady Gamora doesn't abide foolishness," is her lone assessment, before she just loads up those supplies in the docking bay. "It's one of her better qualities."

    With that, the huntress makes her way back outside -- only pausing when she makes note of Indigo suddenly amongst them. She blinks once, brows lifting. "Indigo," she begins, and almost looks as if she might say more... before ultimately thinking better of it, pressing on, only pausing at Gamora's questions.

    "Oh, is that what an amusement park is? A fighting ground? Maybe it would be worthwhile to visit one." She might be getting a very wrong impression of what you're supposed to be doing at amusement parks.

Star-Lord has posed:
    "Yes! That's right! Riza Minelli 3! Perfect!"

    Peter is sure he can figure out a way to strike up a few deals that involve Riza 3 while they're at it. It's never really a vacation. But a vacation would probably do the team some good.

    "We could definitely use the R&R. Maybe even the battle sims! I think some serious quality time will do us all some good."

    Peter looks around at all the women and while normally this might be a person's greatest fantasy... he's pretty sure all of these women can kill him so he doesn't even make the comment. Not this time. Not while Gamora is still angry. She'll lead the charge and that's the end of that.

    "So. We hit up Knowhere, make some quick units, clean the Milano off and then it's off to Riza 3?" Peter picks up one more light thing to carry. It's heavy to him. Kind of.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Lolita hmms. "...Lady Gamora." the young gynoid says thoughfully to herself, before carefully making her way up the ramp after Angela. she's easily carrying at least a ton or so of material, but without much problem, other than being carefully to balance the swaying stacks. She's in heels, after all.

    "The amusement parks I'm aware of, on my world at least, were for...fun. Rides to make your heart race and pull a shriek of delight from your lips; games of chance and skill, to earn prizes. Food designed to stimulate the senses, or....well, simply to increase your body's calorie intake with food that probably is a bit bad for you." she admits thoughfully. "It may be they have some sort of arena for those interested, however, but probably not for...lethal contests?" She moves over beside Indigo, setting down the boxes with an easy grace, then starting to help her tie them off.

    "I think some time on such a world would be beneficial. It has been...stressful for us, some more than others." She carefully doesn't look at Indigo.

    "Mind you, that is on my world, not out here necessarily."

Indigo has posed:
    At Gamora's compliment, Indigo's lips quirk genuinely but briefly. "I remember your appetite," she doesn't quite whisper to Gamora, her back turned as she prepares to collect another box. She pauses in that task rather deliberately to turn to face Gamora (or at least Gamora's clavicle), and her voice is slightly louder, back up to its subdued smoothness as she returns more politely, "Thank you, Gamora. I'm glad to have you back. The ship hasn't been the same without you." She abruptly gives her back to Gamora again to collect another crate, a task which takes nearly ten seconds of bending over it, face hidden by her work. After that long pause--by the time Gothic Lolita is at her side--her voice and face are normal as she adds, "Riza 3 has a strict no weapons policy, but there are space stations nearby that maintain a protective military presence. I'm sure I could arrange something there."
    Another crate goes thump in the cargo hold as Indigo sets it down. She shoots a glance at Peter and agrees quietly, "Of course, Star-lord. Gamora, were you planning to keep these weapons for personal use, or did you mean to sell them for profit?"

Gamora has posed:
    "A small group of pirates decided to try and earn a reputation by killing me," she says, briefly, to Indigo. "I was only here to get the power cells. We can sell some of the weapons, if we need the profit. I was only here to get the power cells. Rocket will want some of those for personal use. As will I." The fact that Gamora has procured this number of weapons is suggestive she killed at least that many people -- if not more.
    She looks to Angela, perhaps looking forward to a murderspree with the self-proclaimed angel, and her killing field bestie. She frowns, and asks, "How can a place with no weapons be considered - entertainment?" There is sincere confusion in her voice, the grumpiness slipping away, just a little, in place of that.
    It must be one of those 'normal' things that escapes her far too often. A quick look back will show her that, between the crew and the roomba-collectors, all their perverbial loot has been collected. "We need to get the Milano defitted, as soon as possible. Before people start mistaking us for a warship."
    She looks to Peter. "I suggest we do that before we go to Riza 3. Angela and I, I think, will take up Indigo's offer to practice our skills and calibrate our weapons." Because that is necessity. And, it clears her mind.

Angela has posed:
    "... Oh. That seems frivolous," is Angela's first, kneejerk response when she hears just what a park entails, echoing Gamora's own sentiment with perfect timing. Her ribbons droop a bit, as if disappointed. But, despite her precarious filter, she spares a brief flicker of a glance Indigo's way; her nose crinkles, brows knitting inward, before she adds, seemingly from nowhere, "... But it would not hurt to try it."

    The last of her cargo distributed, Angela waits at the entrance of the Milano, arms crossed over her chest. Ribbons twitch mildly, her eyes kept forward towards the landing zone beyond them to keep a wary vigil. Just in case something out here tries to do something foolish while they're in the middle of packing. Her gaze flicks, briefly, towards Peter -- and a look of approval paints itself on those otherwise stoic features as he talks about making units.

    Maybe it's a frightening thing that Peter Quill reminds her most of home.

    "A good plan," she declares. "I can help to barter." Considering her usual negotiation tactics, maybe that's not such a good idea. And probably a good thing that Gamora otherwise distracts her from the idea with the prospect of training practice. A smile tugs at her lips, small but there.

    "It -has- been a while, hasn't it?"

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    There's a faint bemusement in in Lolita's expression as she straightens to look at the two warrior women, idly marking Gamora in her internal HUD as 'Fierce Femme Fatale'. THis goes with the one already set on Angela internally, which is currently set to 'Badass yet Bodacious Beauty'. She is the soul of snark when it comes to her internal labelling system.

    She clears her throat, then says. "If you're going to spar...would you mind another? I haven't been able to test my internal systems are fully repaired yet." She smiles faintly. "And I'm very curious to see both of you in action." she adds, clasping her hands behind her back. "Though I would like to see the amusement areas of the planet as well, at some point."

Indigo has posed:
    Indigo helps finish storing the equipment and agrees absently, "The three of you can do that. I'll go with Peter to the amusement park. We'll make records of it f-for you." She looks away, to the hallway up to the bunks. "Gamora, I was in the gunner's seat while you were gone, but I was only ever a poor replacement for you. You should take that duty, when you're ready. I'll be in the engine room looking at removing the weapons systems."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora nods to Indigo, "Good." Good, that Indigo kept her seat warm for her. Good that -something- feels familiar about this. And good that the Milano is -- well, going to look back like it -should- look. The fact that it's quickly seeming more home again is at least starting to quell some of that anger she was carrying inside.
    She looks to Angela, then to Lolita, curiously. "You wish to watch us? Very well." She is indifferent, and tells Angela casually, "I imagine if you and I had both been here, we could have looted the entire planet."
    Yes. Gamora is completely sincere. And shows little compunction for talking so causally about murdering the scum of that entire planet. But, the desire to do so any longer isn't there.
    And for the moment, Peter is out of her thoughts. Probably better for him that way, anyways. Her attention focuses back on Lolita. "You are a trained assassin? Or, you wish to learn?"

Star-Lord has posed:
    "Well, alright! Looks like we've got ourselves a plan!"

    Peter's jovial nature seems to be turned up to eleven for some reason. That reason might be the way he looks at Indigo every now and again before he's getting back into the swing of being the jovial leader of these crazy misfits!

    Once everything's loaded, he's hitting the button to make sure that cargo ramp closes and he's already moving back towards the cockpit. Somebody has to get this bird in the air. "Now what say we get outta' here before Don Karnage and his goons decide to send us on a tale spin." He's almost cheeky as he says that and makes with the moving to his seat to so The Milano can get prepped for take off.

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    "No, I wish to spar with you to learn, not watch." Lolita corrects, politely. "And I am a frontline hand-to-hand combat unit constructed of a massively hyperdense assembly of nanite-infused smartware."

    There's a pause. "..that means it's unlikely you'll hurt me unless you're really trying to." Another pause. "...and that I'll pull my punches? Ah, if needed." she quickly adds, realizing how that sounded. "But I would very much like to participate, not just observe, with both of you." she finishes. "If nothing else, so I have an idea of your abilities, as bodacious as they most likely are.".

    She smiles faintly. "But we should adjourn somewhere, perhaps, so that we might bring you up to speed on the recent brobdingnagian battle that required the festooning of the Milano with many and various weapons of massive destruction."

Angela has posed:
    Intense, white gaze focused on Indigo as she stores away that equipment, Angela looks lost in some private thought when Lolita speaks up; the self-proclaimed angel blinks once, ribbons twitching as if startling into wakefulness as the huntress tears her eyes away to look Lolita's way. "Hm? ... Ah, of course," she says after a moment, giving a single, firm nod. "You should make sure your senses stay sharp." At least, that's what she assumes 'internal systems' means. This is not her strong suit. "... Or don't rust." She's also not really sure if that's a metaphorical or literally thing in this case, either.

    And with this, she starts to move once more; metal soles echo through the Milano as she makes her way past the others. As she goes, she offers Gamora a look for her words. "Of course," she says, without reservation or a second's doubt. She's confident. In herself, or Gamora. Probably both. "And then perhaps this world would be less of a sty." One could only hope.

    She'll keep moving, though, until she reaches Indigo. She doesn't say anything; she doesn't have much skill with words to begin with. No -- Angela just quietly reaches out to rest a hand on the gynoid's shoulder for a few handfuls of seconds. A little anchoring presence that endures until Angela turns her attention Peter's way.

    "Yes. Get us out of here." She's not really good at 'requests.'

    "... 'Don Karnage' is a ridiculous name." But at least she's honest.

Indigo has posed:
    Indigo was leaving for the engine room before Angela thought to put a hand on her (not that would have mattered to a woman fast enough to outrun lightning unless Angela chose to let it), but that mention of the battle froze her in place like she'd been run through. At the touch on her shoulder, a grip that makes the Ravager leather jacket creak, she mutters, "Excuse me--engines--" and, well, flees.

Gamora has posed:
    "Absolutely ridiculous," agrees Gamora on the heels of Angela's comment. "A terrible name for a child. I am surprised they lived."
    She looks to Lolita, then. Assessing the gynoid with a measured gaze. "I do not spar. I kill. My sparring -is- killing. It is how I was made into Thanos' top assassin." Her words are calm. Concise. "He pitted my sister and I against each other. Whoever won, earned his favor. Whoever lost? Died. Or close enough. And was remade. Bit. By bit. I do not spar."
    Gamora and subtelty probably don't mix, too often. At least, not in social situations like this.
    But Indigo's fleeing has her watching the other gynoid cautiously. Her eyes focus on Peter, and then Angela. "What happened?"

Star-Lord has posed:
    "She'll be fine. Riza 3 will make everything all better. Just you wait and see."

    Peter makes sure to look out at the planet as he lifts The Milano off and starts making the way of it off towards the atmosphere so they can get back into space. Y'know, where all the cool things happen.

    The look on his face is only half-worried, though, because he can't show that much emotion. Not when he's trying to make sure everything goes the way it needs to go. He's focused but he's trying to make sure he keeps the spirits of his crew up. They need him to carry the weight of all their worlds and he'll gladly do it. It's what a Captain is for.

    Peter whispers this next bit to himself. "... she better be. Or The Collector's gonna' lose another dozen bodies." Yeah, Peter's still upset too.

Angela has posed:
    Her hand rests on Indigo, just as the gynoid seizes up. She can feel the tension beneath her hand, the same tension of someone about to fight or fly. Her lips part. "In--"

    ... But before she can so much as finish the thought, Indigo is gone, racing down those halls. Angela watches with rare uncertainty that only comes from situations like these, unable to pursue her fleeing friend. She just... lets the gynoid go. And then curses herself under her breath as she stares down at the palm of her hand. What happened? At the moment, all she can do is shake her head as her arm falls back to her side.

"... It will be fine," she utters in a half echo of Peter's own words. Her hand curls into a fist.

    And those very same sentiments that Peter whispers to himself runs through Angela's thoughts as well as the huntress turns towards the bridge to watch over the take off.

"Indigo is owed a debt," is all she says by way of explanation. Someone better with their words should probably take this. "They all are. And it will be repaid."

Gothic Lolita has posed:
    Loli's eyes widen as Indigo suddenly bolts, then gets a stricken expression, before looking down, angrily berating herself internally; it's very obvious on her face that she's upset. She lets out a quiet huff of air, looking back towards the cockpit as the ship begins to life off, then quietly lays it out. The damage is done...she needs to let Gamora know why Indigo is...different.

    "Viridian and Indigo were married on Xandar, a bit after you left. Three days later, The Collector kidnapped Indigo to put in his collection." Her dark eyes find Gamora's. "It turned out that Indigo's personality was overlaid on another...a future version of Brainiac, Brainiac 8. The Collector tortured her in order to activate Brainiac, who promptly killed him and assimilated his ship into a skullship, then moved to attack Oa. With some help from a more noble Brainiac, Brainiac 5 of the Legion, and Viridian's knowldge of Indigo's system, we were able to construct a new body for her, but needed to save her...memories, the data that made her up, that was on the skullship. During the battle with the Lanterns, we used an experimental process designed by Viridian to bypass the ship's otherwise impenetrable shields, then she and I and the Roomba Marines boarded. We confronted Brainiac 8, and Viridian was able to release the virus in her system to distract him, while Indigo's revived program inside him was able to attack his systems an dforce him to reset." She taps the side of her head. "We were able to load Indigo into my memory banks, then carry her back out, before a torpedo created by Mikh was used to utterly obliterate the vessel."

    She trails off, then looks a bit helpless and sad. "I loaded her back into the body, but she and Viridian were badly hurt. And they are....not recovered from what was done." she says softly. "I was foolish to mention this in front of her."

Gamora has posed:
    Wait. Gamora missed a fight? With The Collector? Missed protecting, fighting with the Guardians? Peter, and Angela, and ... whoever Lolita is? The green woman can hear Peter's promise to himself. Angela's. Her jaw clenches, briefly, then, it relaxes, moments later. Her eyes narrow, "I see."
    She looks over to where Indigo disappeared to, "I will ... speak with her. Later." Later. Later is good. Since Gamora and 'talks' do not generally go well. But if anyone knows about being 'weaponized' and turned into a killing machine? It's Gamora.
    "I suspect The Collector will be keeping his distance from us, in the future?" She knows how hard it is to kill the entity. She adds, the tone of her cadance even, "Before Thanos gave me his final blessing to be his executioner in full tacit, I was asked to come up with scenarios to deal with - problems - like The Collector, should he interfere with Thanos' plans."
    She leaves the rest silent, suggestive that she has at least one, if not several, successfull means to permenantely end the elusive entity that is The Collector.
    

Indigo has posed:
    In the engine room, behind the fuel manifest (a great brass-colored cylinder the size of a distillery vat), slight little Indigo is curled into a smaller, even more slight ball in the shadows, letting the percussion of the injectors and their constant stream of quantum explosions drown out the sounds of her snivelling, what of it escapes the muffling of her sleeves as she cries to herself. Her nose is running, and for some reason that's the worst of it; knowing that she was designed to have secretions for a runny nose to mislead the world away from the predator inside her. Her misery is real, but on some level it's also a front for a killer.

Star-Lord has posed:
    Star-Lord sighs as he takes The Milano into space and realizes that he's hearing way too much bad stuff. He looks over to the side and spots the secondary tape deck that's been installed there and goes into his pocket for a mixtape. It gets flipped around and pushed into the deck.

    "Alright, alright. Enough about all that. We've got Gamora back. We've got a vacation on the horizon. And we've got new Indigo with Ravager Fu Grip. Let's see if we can look on the bright side for a while, huh?"

    Quill grins because it's the easiest way to not cry and reaches over to press Play on the deck.

    Now Playing: https://youtu.be/ZzlgJ-SfKYE