Issue 69: A New Age Part 6

Peter busted into Tony's lab when they heard a moan coming from the garage.

"I think we should get him later," Peter chuckled as he teleported out and ended up at the Collectors place, right around the time he was explaining the history of the Infinity Stones.

"Cool, I'll be taking that," Peter said as he webbed the guys mouth up and snagged the stone.

"Who are you!" Peter Quill and the rest of the Guardians pointed their weapons at him.

"Oh, I'm this criminal's jailer," Peter grinned as he opened a portal underneath the Collector's feet.

He fell into the Prison Pocket Dimension Peter had built for those that had unforgivable sins. It kept them alive by providing meals, but all they had to look forward to was a padded white 10x10ft cell.

"As for you guys, you have quite the bounty on your heads. Escaping from a max security prison the Nova Corps owns raises a few eyebrows."

"Peter, what's going on?" MJ asked.

"Huh? Do I know you?" Quill asked.

"Hahaha! How about that, a human all the way out in space and we even share a name," Peter removed his mask and looked around, "Why are you pointing toys at me?"

"What?" Gamora and Quill saw that the gun had been replaced with a squirt gun and the blades with a soft-ball bat.

"Aah!" Quill screamed, "My Element Gun!"

"Oh relax, I'll give them back," Peter waved his hand and made their weapons reappear.

"I didn't come here to arrest you. I just want the Collector's…collection. Not to mention he was a bad dude. Do you know how many people he's killed and enslaved?"

"Uh…so if you're not going to arrest us, can you give me my Infinity Stone back?" Quill held his hand out.

"No," Peter answered as he walked up to the pink-skinned alien girl and removed the slave collar.

"You're free, but if you could do me a favor, help the other slaves escape as well. At least the non-dangerous ones."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" The woman gave him a hug and cried into his chest.

"There…there, it's okay," Peter awkwardly patted her on the back, "Can you get me a profile of all the living species in here?"

"Yes! Right away!" The girl wiped her tears away and ran off.

MJ snickered, "So what is this place?"

"The head of a Celestial that died a long time ago. This place is the Collector's abode. I plan on taking everything in it."

"Can you quit ignoring me! That was supposed to be my big payday!" Quill shouted.

"Who are you?" Gamora asked.

"I don't trust them," Drax commented.

"Who cares about trusting them?! I want my money!" Rocket yelled.

"I am Groot!" 

"Oh, hello. I'm Mary Jane Watson, and that's my husband, Peter Parker. We're from Earth, like this guy."

"WHAT? You were serious about that?" Quill shouted.

Peter pulled out a Big Mac with fries and Coke'a'cola.

Quill's eyes widened as he drooled a little and said, "Is that…Mc Donalds?"

"It is, bet you missed it," Peter passed it over, "How long have you been out here, Peter?"

"My whole life," Quill said as he started woofing down the food, "Sooooo gooood!" 

"Really? Give me some," Rocket said as he sniffed the food.

"Get your own, trash panda!" 

"What happened to sharing?! I want yours!" Rocket jumped on Quill's face.

"Peter…it's a talking raccoon,"

"The hell is a raccoon?" Rocket said before snatching a few fries and munching down on it, "Ooh, this is good."

"I am Groot?"

Peter pulled up a holographic image of a Raccoon from earth.

"I'm am Grooot!" 

"It's not funny, they look nothing like me!"

"Sir, here is the list," The pink skinned woman came back with a tablet.

"I see…hmmm okay, I can send most of these guys back to the worlds they came from. The rest I'll throw into my prison since they have quite the list of crimes."

Peter opened several hundred portals and used his reality and space gemstones to connect them to where they came from. After that, he sent the more dangerous and evil collections into his prison.

"You might want to leave the room, oh, and here."

Peter passed over a the tablet and said, "Swipe your cards and you guys will have half of the collectors funds."

"Oh hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about," Rocket jumped up and swiped his card.

"150 Billion!!! Wait...is this is cut between us all?" Quill's eyes widened.

"Yep! Enjoy."

"What do you plan on doing with the stone?" Quill asked as he finished off his soda and burped.

"Disgusting," Gamora frowned.

"Sorry, it's been a long time since I had a carbonated drink, I couldn't help myself."

Peter smirked, "Well, I plan on eventually sending it to the end of time. This stone has too much power for any one person. The universe is better off without them."

"That's what you're going to do with ultimate power?" Gamora couldn't believe her ears.

"Actually, I'd like to study it for a while, besides, I'll need all six if I'm going to get rid of them for good."

"Let me use it," Gamora said with a determined expression.

"What for?"

"To kill my father,"

"You plan to kill Thanos?" Drax spoke up, "Brave…but stupid."

"Yes," Gamora nodded her head.

 "Who's Thanos, and why would you want to kill your own father?" MJ asked.

"A mad man with too much power. He's not my real father, he came to my planet many years ago, gathered up half the population and had them killed. My parents died but he took an interest in me. I was his slave, his puppet, until recently," Gamora looked at the crew in front of her, "I was sent to collect the stone, but I betrayed him. He'll want me dead, and I'm afraid I have nowhere to run."

"I'm…I'm so sorry. That sounds terrible," The Spider-Heroine commented.

"There is a reason he's called the Mad Titan. He plans on wiping out half of all life in the universe because he says that there aren't enough resources to go around."

"That's crazy!" MJ shouted.

"Actually, it's crazy and wrong. First of all, the universe is infinitely growing. Secondly, there is a disproportional amount of stars and planets compared to the small amount intelligent life that populate them. Even if every species became space faring, we'd never be able to use all of that the universe has to offer before the eventual heat death of the universe. Thirdly, most if not all objects in this reality can be recycled, heck you could even make your own stars and resources with enough power. Wouldn't it make more sense to uplift these worlds rather than kill half of em all?"

"Now that makes sense," MJ added.

Gamora cracked a smiled before she started laughing, "Oh, that's such a good argument. I wish I had thought of it."

"She's got a really pretty smile," Quill said with a smile before she looked at him, "Uh…did I say that out loud."

"I am Groot!"

"What a moron," Rocket rolled his eyes.

"AHhahahah! You like her!" Drax laughed like an innocent kid.

"Okay, you might want to evacuate the building. I'm going to be storing it in a bit."

"I was wanting to ask, how you took that stuff out?" Quill questioned.

"I got a magic bag with infinite storage space," Peter said as he started walking towards the exit.

"Wicked, can I have one? I'll pay for it," Rocket asked as he watched the bag disappear into Peter's suit.

"Wait, the stone!" Gamora said with a frantic look on her face.

"I'll help you beat this Thanos fella. I'd hate it if he ever found his way to Earth. If he's after the Infinity Stones, I imagine he'll come to earth for the Time Stone."

"The Time Stone is on Earth?" MJ asked.

"Yes, Doctor Strange has it," Peter said before he waved everyone out.

When they all stepped outside, Spider-Man pulled the entire building into the bag.

"Thanos is Earth's problem if he's looking for the Stones. I imagine if he collected all six, he could accomplish his goal of wiping half of all existing life."

"You don't understand how powerful he is! He is an old being as ancient as this universe. Some say he is above even the gods," Gamora complained.

"I doubt that. I know a few Gods. I'm pretty sure they would be able to take this guy out," Peter yawned.

"You know gods?" Quill's eyes bulged.

"Yeah, the Norse God Thor," Peter smiled.

"I think I remember that one…" Quill thought back to his early years.

"So, about our bounty," Rocket spoke up.

"I am Groot!"

"What? No I'm not going to turn anyone in. I just want to know how big mine is," Rocket grinned.

"Actually, I think I can do something about your Bounty. I paid a little visit to Xandar and learned a few things about the universe from there. If you guys take down the Tyrant Ronan, they'll not only get rid of your criminal records, you can become heroes," 

"Heroes? Why would anyone want to be that?" Rocket groaned.

"Hey, we're superheroes back on Earth," MJ frowned as she put her hands on her hips.

"I am Groot,"

"I am not going to apologize, heroes are suckers!" Rocket crossed his arms.

"Wait, heroes like Captain America?" Quill's eyes sparkled.

"Oh he's still around," Peter chuckled.

"REALLY?"

"Yeah, he was frozen in ice for more than 70 years," Peter smiled, "We thawed him out a couple years ago. He's a good friend of mine."

"Oh my gosh, you know Captain America…this is sooo cool!" Quill cheered.

"Who's Captain Merica?" Drax asked.

"It's America, and he's one of Earth's strongest protectors. In fact we're on the same team," MJ bragged.

"How strong is this, Captain?" Gamora asked.

"Well, he was strong enough to turn the tides in a war pretty much by himself," MJ mentioned.

"Our team is called the Avengers, we can probably fight this Thanos guy together. Earth has changed a lot since Quill here disappeared from it. There are countless strong people that are basically universal threats living there now."

"I did not know your home planet had such mighty warriors," Gemora looked at Quill.

"Well, Cap is pretty cool, but he's no Star Lord," Quill puffed his chest out a little.

"Who?" MJ asked before Peter snorted.

"Star Lord…it's my outlaw name…" Quill's shoulders slumped over.

"If we get to kill Ronan, I will gladly become a hero," Drax said as he pulled out his daggers.

"Heroes don't kill for vengeance," Peter groaned, "...Not unless there's another choice."

"What would you suggest?" Drax gave him a serious glare.

The Spider-Hero grinned as he gave Drax a trip to his prison and pulled him back a few minutes later, "Does a lifetime in that prison seem fair?"

"I…can you starve him at least?" Drax wiped away the food he ate from his lips.

"I think about it," Peter smiled.

"Can I kill him if I get to him first? He slaughtered my world and family, I want my revenge."

Peter sighed as he thought it over and gave him a pair of wristbands that could increase his physical abilities several fold.

"I don't know if it's right to stop you, but I'll promise to stay out of the fight."

"What are these?" Drax examined the bands.

"A gift that will increase your strength…hmm you know what, if you all agree to form up as a team that will live together and support one another, I can get you on the Avengers and make you all several dozen times stronger than you are right now."

"Are you speaking the truth?" Quill really liked the sound of that idea.

Peter grinned as he opened a portal, "Step into my lab."

The group lifted their brows before they curiously stepped through.

"How'd you do that?" Rocket asked.

"Magic," Peter snickered.

He then made a magic contract that outlined the duties of the Guardians of the Galaxy he was familiar with, "Sign here and become part of the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy."

"Cool name," Quill said as he signed up, "So how are you going to make us dozens of times stronger?"

"Well, for starters, I'll be giving you the same treatment Captain America got, I'll have to make something for Groot, and Rocket could use a suit."

"You can make me like Cap?" 

"Yeah, but I'll need a blood sample from you three. Gamora and Drax are aliens, and while you're human, Quill, but you're also half Celestial. An ancient race I've only heard about in legends. I don't think it's possible for Rocket to be augmented because he's clearly been augmented before, and Groot…well, he's tree."

"I am Groot."

"Say what?" Quill tilted his head while the everyone looked at him with a curious expression.

"He's part Celestial?" Gamora couldn't believe it.

"Your genetic markers are a close match to the material that giant head floating in the middle of nowhere."

"Wait, that was a celestial, like from the History Book we read in Kamar-Taj?" MJ had a look of realization.

"Yeah, so hands out," Peter said as poked them both and took the blood samples to his computer.

"What's a Celestial?" Quill asked.

"A god like being, all are thought to be dead," Gamora replied.

"So, I'm a Demi-God? Cool, I knew I was awesome," Quill smirked.

After running some test, Peter had to change the recipe for the Serum to work with their biology. But with his Reality Topaz and Power Ruby, he could easily conjure up the resources he needed.

While he waited for the serum to synthesize, Peter gave everyone some food and decided to go through the Collector's collection.

Using the Time Opal in conjunction with the Reality and Mind Gemstones, he was able to learn about the histories and effects of the items he gained.

There was Ali Babba's Lamp that can summon a four-headed Djinn with mystical powers, Ali Babba's Flying Carpet and cape, a Biogram Imager that created a false image of the wielder while hiding their real location, Birthstones that can summon a Vulture of Nepenthe, Boxers the rectangular inter-dimensional traps that can weaken a victim's strength or sanity, Coats of Hercules, animated animal hides engulf their targets totally, cutting off their oxygen supply enough to render them unconscious. They were even able to subdue Thor at one time.

Next was the Etherion Armor, an armored battle-suit that is made of the alien metal etherion. This metal actually amplifies the wearer's strength to superhuman levels, and the suits have jets that allow for omnidirectional flight.

Dergosian Gun. This large artillery weapon fires pellets which freeze metal joints. 

Cosmic Viewer, with which he can monitor events on various worlds, "Oh yeah, I can use this bad boy."

Electrified Comb that can be electrified, which allows it stay attached to anyone touching it, Incendiary Capsules that can burst into flames a few seconds after being discarded.

After finishing that section, he moved over to the Kymellian Flute that can translate any language, Magic Beans that can conjure up warrior Giants, Obedience Potion with which the Collector used to compel victims into do his bidding, 

"Huh, it's not here, so I guess the Reality Stone must be in the Aether," Peter said as he shook his head.

He continued to perform inventory and saw the Shockwave Gong that is capable of producing powerful sonic attacks, a Stun Gun that was fairly high tech, a Temporal Assimilator: that allows time travel, "Putting that in the Black Vault. Hate time travel."

The Black Vault was a sub dimension of pure darkness that he made weapons and items he deemed too powerful or threatening for the universe. Should anyone but him somehow enter it, they and all the contents are dropped into a black hole.

The Poison, The most powerful poison in the known universe, this was able to kill even Wonder Man and the Silver Surfer in the comics, "Maybe I can get Thanos to ingest this somehow and save us a lot of trouble. Though, I don't know if it'll work on an Eternal Deviant like him, especially one with connections to Death. I'm pretty sure he was cursed to be Immortal or something."

Tibetan Crystal Balls that emit mystical rays, "What the hell does this even do. Maybe I can ask someone in K'un Lun."

Time Probe allowed him to find and procure artifacts from other time periods. "Ooh, that's pretty good. But it messes with the timeline. Too bad it doesn't make copies like what I do with my Gemstones." Peter tossed it in the Black Vault.

Vampire Stones, when hit together, can summon or banish a swarm of vampire bats, "Dropping you in the sun."

Peter said goodbye to the demonic artifact as it burnt into a crisp.

Vandarian Power Wand, a powerful artifact which can hurt even gods, "Well, I take this baby apart and see how it ticks."

The Collection was also comprised of several novelty items. There Nova's helmet, Stan Lee's Aviator Glasses, "How did they even get this!"

Next was the Book of Cagliostro, Kang's Time Chair, Uatu's eye, a shattered Cosmic Cube, Angela's Ichors, a Raptor Amulet, Firelord's Staff, and several different types of Formulaic recipes.

"It'll take me years to sift through all this stuff." Peter groaned.