A very ruined area of Spartax:
He hates to kick a Spartax king when he’s down, newcomer villain Yotat announces, but they kind of all brought this on themselves. He and his henchmen fire at the surprised Guardians. All their butting in where they don’t belong, all their gallivanting across the galaxy, pretending they know what’s best for everyone… Did they think they could do whatever they want and there would be no cost? Well, this is the comeuppance. This is the day it all comes due.
Yotat grabs the unconscious Drax, announcing he will give him a warrior’s death. And that is more than he deserves. But he wants his buddy Quill to see this… he wants the galaxy to see this.
“Please, don’t do this!” Peter Quill pleads. Is he begging? Yotat asks surprised. He didn’t think the Spartax knew how to beg. Peter points out his world is falling apart because of this Accuser. These people need their help. He asks Yotat to let his beef with Drax and the Guardians go for now and help them. Please!
That’s right, Yotat recalls. Quill is half human. That’s where the begging comes from. How can he stand there and not help? Peter demands.
Because he thinks, Quill, the Guardians and the Spartax are disgusting, is the reply. A feeling that just about everyone in the galaxy shares, by the way. Look how long his planet has been under attack and no one in the entire galaxy is coming to help. The Spartax think themselves above everybody, but look at them now!
That was his father, not him, Peter points out. Does he have any more good begging in him or can he pull off his friend’s head for the galaxy to see? Yotat asks. Peter grins. No. That was all the time they needed.
Venom tackles the puzzled Yotat from behind. It’s called getting a second wind, Peter spells out, and he wouldn’t beg him if he had Mets tickets (He doesn’t, does he?)!
Hey kids! Rocket grins. He’s got a big homemade weapon here all charged and recalibrated to big boom. Anywhere in particular? The face please, Peter grins. Rocket fires at Yotat and hopes he killed him. Peter wants to make sure he’s down. Drax announces he’s got this and tells the others to look after the innocent. Rocket looks after the splintered apart Groot. Drax hits Yotat in the face.
The others try to help the civilians. Some of them recognize Peter as king and ask how he could let that happen. He didn’t let that happen, Kitty assures Peter. Except he did, he replies darkly.
Drax keeps on hitting Yotat, who suddenly gets the upper hand. He informs Drax he’s bad for business and he really doesn’t like him. However, Drax gets help from the Thing and Venom.
In the meantime, Spartax jet fighters come flying in. Peter asks Kitty who that guy is. She explains they met him when Peter was busy being king. Funny story, actually.
Flashback / Kitty’s story:
Three months ago, the Guardians were on Knowhere to stock up on supplies and show Ben Grimm around, teach him what which street vendor to eat at and the like.
Suddenly, an explosion comes from one of the shops. Yotat holds the vendor by the throat and demands his cut. As he keeps threatening the vendor, his victim suddenly phases through his grasp, thanks to Kitty who glares at Yotat. A moment later, Drax kicks him in the back and Rocket fires a rocket at him. Yotat recognizes Drax and announces he has declared himself as his—
That’s where the Knowhere Corps (Cosmo, Moondragon, Bug, Mantis and Prism) come in. Cosmo (telepathic Russian space dog and Knowhere security chief) thanks the Guardians as the Corps take over. Moondragon halfheartedly invites them to dinner.
For some reason, Yotat fixates on Drax and vows to kill him. Drax returns the feeling. Ben suggests he be the bigger man, something, Drax points out, is not possible.
Present:
Kitty muses that, after they found out all the crimes Yotat was into, they should have finished him.
The Thing, in the meantime, beats Yotat down with an ‘It’s clobberin’ time!’ as he joins Drax, who complains he is not a fan of this war cry. It will grow on him, Ben assures him.
The Royal Guard wants to take Peter to safety. He refuses and orders them to arrest Yotat and that Kree Accuser. They look at where Kitty left her stuck in the ground and realize Hala is on the loose. However, she is soon found and taken care of.
Gamora, while unconscious, is still alive luckily. When she awakes some time later in a hospital, she finds Baby Groot next to her.
In the meantime, Quill is meeting with the council, discussing to return Hala to what’s left of the Kree Empire. Peter is against it but is told it is already decided. He thought he was in charge here. He is informed the council holds him accountable for the attacks on the planet. Pete shouts they set him up and, ironically, he was going to quit, but he wanted to at least wait until this was settled! Kitty holds him back and phases them both away and outside. The councilors decide that he and the Guardians are now enemies of the galaxy.
The Guardians all meet inside the ship. When Rocket complains he is hungry, Ben jokes that there is a restaurant at the end of the universe, but nobody gets it, not even the other Terran members, causing Ben to wonder if he is the only one here who reads.
In the Negative Zone, Annihilus congratulates the Brood Queen for manipulating the Spartax to turn against their king. Now it’s time to make their moves, Annihilus decides. The Brood Queen warns not to repeat the mistakes of the past. What did she have in mind? he asks. She grins…
