The “G” Shield

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Knowhere

-Jack Sullivan–

“611…612…613…614” He was currently using the gym afforded to Kumpo’s playground, getting in a nice workout. Well, he said a nice workout but the truth was, with the way his body had gotten enhanced, there was hardly anything in the gym that could truly make his body exert itself.

In the beginning, it had taken him a long time to recover from the hopeless feeling that had pervaded his mind, after finding out that not only was the Collector keeping a very close eye on him and every single one of his interactions, but he was also somehow directly interfering with his nervous systems.

Sure, he could try and overcome them but if experience had taught him something, it was never to touch something that glowed an ominous purple light, especially if that something was attached to his back, moulded directly into the same shape as his spine, terminating at his neck.

He had chills the moment he first saw it. He was sure that Tivan had installed some sort of bomb in it that would activate at the first sign of a successful escape. He wasn’t even sure if it could be removed even if he got his powers back. Considering it was TIvan, he was sure that the bomb’s yield was sufficiently high, high enough for it to penetrate his sturdy body and kill him if not outright cripple him.

That was not what he wanted. He could have tried a kamikaze attack but the thing was, he did not want to do that. That would be like giving up and if there was something he was not, he was not a quitter. There must be something, something he could do to ensure his escape and not just his but every single one of the people who came to meet Kumpo in this prison dressed as a playground.

He had used some of the stuff that Kumpo had lying around, to increase the weight he could wield. He thought that even if he could not exercise his powers, he could at least make sure that his body did not rust. 

Now, on an intellectual level, he knew that his body was not normal and muscle atrophy occurred at a whole other level than normal levels, if it occurred at all but if he had to spend another day cooped up in his pad, doing nothing but meditating, staying alone with his thoughts, he might just trigger the bomb planted into his spine and free himself from the pain.

With the lack of any natural source of light in the Collection, he could not keep track of the days that had passed in this hellhole but apparently, that was by design. Confusing collections by not telling them the amount of time that had happened was one of the many sick pastimes of Tivan.

In the long period, it could be a month or multiple months, he had made friends with a couple of other collections. There were many people who looked absolutely murderous, only to calm down when Kumpo talked with them, his translator allowing him to perfectly mimic the native language of all the species he had encountered here.

There was not a whole lot of talking done but he had made silent connections by playing simple games like arm wrestling, playing catch just by using the heaviest weights he could find instead of a ball, and more. That was how he had spent the better part of his days here, waiting for something to happen.

Waiting for someone to come to this place and destroy the Collector, once and for all. After all, he knew that Ronan came here in pursuit of the Power Stone that the Guardians of the Galaxy delivered to the Collector, to encash the bounty.

He no longer harboured intentions of killing Tivan himself. He would be more than grateful if Ronan could lay waste to Knowhere using the power of the Power Stone, and he would reciprocate by removing his head from his body, after taking the Power Stone in custody and destroying the Dark Aster.

Honestly, he more or less meditated these days to visualise the way his barriers could be used to create a makeshift weapon capable of holding an Infinity Stone, just like Ronan did with his hammer. He knew the sheer amount of energy that the Power Stone would imbue him if he ever came into direct contact with it.

It was one of the least insidious but also the most dangerous of the Infinity Stones, being capable of reducing any being that touches it, to cinders, by the sheer virtue of the energy flowing through it. He would need layers upon layers, of not just his normal barriers but the hexagonal shaped ones. Those were the most optimised for energy interference purposes.

“Bye, Kumpo,” He waved off his friend/ acquaintance/ confidant/ therapist? And entered his pod. He sighed upon seeing the depressing sight of his bland white pod and the bland white bed that was made, the second he went out of his pod. Some sort of robot mechanism no doubt.

The walls themselves were white and the lighting in the room came from multiple lights, dim lights that had been installed in the ceiling, and small crevices at the edge of the room, making sure that the room was thoroughly illuminated in all areas.

He just took off his clothes and threw them into the laundry bag that was empty and just…collapsed on the bed. He had a lot to think of, but nothing he could do about that so he just dozed off.

A loud siren filled his mind as he immediately sprang into action, immediately assuming a combat stance as he scanned the entirety of his now dimly lit pod. He looked around as the siren slowly receded and he relaxed his body as he realised that this was probably some sort of ploy on Tivan’s part.

And speaking of the devil…

“Good morning, Mr.Jack. I am happy to see that you are in good health and mingling with your fellow collectibles. Nothing makes me happier than seeing my collections finally accepting their place as a part of the most glorious collection in the universe,” The punchable face of Tivan was projected on one of the walls as he looked at him.

He had the urge to flip him off but that would just result in a needless and more importantly, very painful shock from his side, that he could do without. So, he just stayed silent as the Collector did what he did best, yapping on and on about his plans without ever showing signs of getting tired or stopping.

“Now, I have been told by someone that you have finally started to open up and create connections with your fellow collections. Now, as I have said before, living as part of my collection need not be seen as a chore or heaven forbid, a punishment. No, it is nothing but the best abode for all of you. Unlimited food, all essentials are taken care of, optimal environments, no predators to worry about. Frankly, you should thank me, especially with how much of a commodity some of your fellow collections are out in the universe. Some of them, even I had to hide, or else even I would be accosted on all sides to secure some of my precious collections.

Now, on that note, let’s speak, face to face, shall we?”

Those were the last words he heard before the entire flooring caved in, taking him and the bed through it. He spread out his arms and legs, trying to get his footing, so to speak. 

He was not nearly as panicked as a normal human would be, owing to his flying abilities, using his barriers. Though that was more like floating on top of a log that was flying through the air. He tried to look around, as he fell for longer than he would have expected. He didn’t know where his pod was located, so to speak. It might be in the middle of this huge Celestial skull or at the bottom, he did not know.

Though, judging by the time it was tracking for him to reach the bottom of this hole, he would wager that he was either located at the top of Knowhere or the far more likely theory, which was that the Collector had technology that could manipulate gravity, making one think that he was just falling down, when in fact, he was probably moving through a series of tunnels, designed to fool his abilities from pinpointing his current location as well as finding out the path to the place he was going to.

The sheer darkness of the place meant that he couldn’t find the edges of this tunnel as well. He could not make out if the tunnel was changing or not.

He squinted his eyes as he saw light at the end of the tunnel. He braced himself for impact as he could see the light but not the bed under him. He was hoping to use the bed as a cushion to soften his landing.

Fortunately, his guess about the Collector employing gravity manipulation tech was proven true when the light came closer, at the same time as his speed reduced. He could feel the pull inverting on him as he was being pulled in the opposite direction as the fall, slowing him down until he safely landed on his feet.

He stabilise himself and looked around. He was confused as to why he was brought here. He was currently standing in front of a huge glass that showed the small belt of asteroid outside, which was currently being mined by hundreds of small robots as they zipped across the space, leaving behind blue trails.

He turned around as he saw the door opening. It was weird that he didn’t hear any footsteps before the door opened the slightest bit. His enhanced senses were not hindered by the power inhibitor installed in him and hearing from that distance should have been child’s play for him and yet, the door acted as a perfect insulating material, separating everything from both sides.

“Mr.Jack, this way, please. The Collector will see you now,” Carina said to him as she held the damned Master Tablet in her hand. It was so close, so within reach. The Master COntrol of this hell hole in her hands, capable of commanding every single thing of Knowhere. 

His hands twitched the slightest bit before he took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then nodded slightly at Carina as he went past her, into the door.

The second the door opened, it was as if he had crossed over into some other world. If the room outside was the perfect example of a hallway in a royal castle somewhere, this place was the command center of some high tech civilisation.

Screens and buttons, along with weird machines, showing different stuff, adorned the entire room, and at the center of the room, sitting on a raised throne, was Tivan, like he was the Emperor surveying over his Empire.

Typical.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the blatant display of textbook narcissism. He wondered if the immortal life he had led, made him immune to self introspection.

Or if he didn’t know some basic psychology. There were books written on Earth that would be tailor made for someone like him, despite the authors themselves probably being star material when the Collector came into existence.

God, the scale at which the Collector’s lifespan came into, was just mind boggling for him. The wealth of information he must have and the amount of experiences he must have in that big head of his, and what did all that amount to?

This….This gaudy display of wealth and power. Being witness to some of the most obscure events of the universe should have humbled him, and shown him the grandness of the universe and the smallness of his existence, and yet, all that did was create hubris in him.

So much so that he let someone like him, someone as certifiably dangerous as him, in the same room as him. Granted, he was unable to use his powers for long before he experienced that white flash of pain before he fell unconscious but for someone like him, someone so intimately aware of his power, even a second was enough to sever his head from his body.

And yet, he stayed his hand. No need to injure his precious body for something that would happen in due time.

For the time being, he would listen to what the Collector had to say to him. And speak he did.

“Mr.Jack, as you can infer, I have amassed an untold number of enemies in my long life. Of course, most of them turned up dead but there are some allies, allies of necessity, of convenience that would not hesitate to turn on me, at the slightest sign of weakness.”

He looked at him as he suddenly clenched the staff in his hand as his face scrunched up in hate, “Recently, I have been facing setback after setback after one of my hired helps, blurted out to the Mad Titan that I wished the newly born babies of the one known as Ebony Maw,”

“That damned Titan,” He suddenly bashed his hand on the armrest of the throne, “Now all my partners have distanced themselves from me and are actively resting my patience as they seem to think that the Mad Titan would take that slight and destroy me,”

He just stood there, rooted on the spot as his mind tried to reconcile the fact that Ebony Maw, ugly telekinetic extraordinaire of Thanos, had babies with someone. His mind immediately recoiled as the image of Ebony lovingly gazing at his babies flashed in his mind.

No, maybe he reproduced asexually. Something like that. Yeah, because he could not believe someone loving Ebony, enough to make babies with him. Not that he knew the social practices of Ebony and his species. Oh yeah, he wished he knew of some way to scrub his mind off that image as well.

“Yes, that is the exact way I reacted to the news as well,” 

He was snapped out of his thoughts at the sudden enthusiasm in Tivan’s voice. He looked to see him pointing his finger at him as his face was now set in a rictus of a smile.

“Now, don’t you agree that it is preposterous for them to try me, ME! They think that they can get away with this. No! Not on my watch. I will make them pay for the transgression of underestimating me.” Tivan declared with his fist in the air before the air around him changed as he sat back down on the chair.

The change in behavior had him straighten up unconsciously.

“Unfortunately,” Tivan drawled, “Some of them are true in some sense. I don't currently have the strength to fight someone of the Mad Titan’s power. If it was before my powers waned off, I could have fought him off but as I am now, I doubt I will last long even against his Black Order, let alone the Titan himself. No, fighting is the game of the young and YOU!”

He flinched back as Tivan snapped his gaze to him as he ran down the length of his throne.

“You, Mr.Jack, can do that for me. You can act as my power for now. You are someone who is undoubtedly very strong, maybe not as strong as the Mad Titan himself but more than a match for his Black Order, even combined. Yes, I have seen footage of your combat and I know the capabilities of the Black Order so I can confidently make that statement,” Tivan chuckled as if he had made some inside joke and then leaned in further as he asked him the most outrageous question.

“Now, will you come to work for me, Mr.Jack? I can assure you I can make it worth your while. Better beddings, better lodgings, some sort of setup like Mr.Kumpo there?” 

Tivan rattled off stuff even as he stood there, frozen in shock.

This bastard was insane. Certifiably insane. 

His head was so far shoved up his ass that he could not think of the downsides of his plan, even for a moment. 

But he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. This might be the only chance he gets to get out of this hellish place and escape his bounds of slavery.

Sad as it was, seeing the mighty Green Guardian brought so low as to be bound like cattle by one of the greatest criminals in the galaxy.

“Um, sure. What do you want me to do?” He squeezed out the words with much difficulty, not that the Collector seemed to notice, glad and lost in his own thoughts as he was.

God, he was so going to cut his body apart into small pieces before throwing them into a nearby star.

 

Word Count - 2903

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