A Ayesha
We thank you, Guardians, for putting your lives on the line. We could not risk the lives of our own Sovereign citizens. Every citizen is born exactly as designed by the community. Impeccable: Both physically and mentally. We control the DNA of our progeny germinating them in birthing pods.
Well, I guess I prefer to make people the old-fashioned way.
A Ayesha
Perhaps someday, you could give me a history lesson in the archaic ways of our ancestors. For academic purposes.
I would be honored, yes. In the name of research, I think that could be pretty…repulsive. I'm not into that kind of casual.
Gamora Oh, please. Your people promised something in exchange for our services. Bring it, and we shall gladly be on our way.
[The Sovereign guards bring a hooded figure into the courtroom. They pull back the hood to reveal Nebula]
Family reunion. Yaaaay.
A Ayesha
I understand that she is your sister?
Gamora She's worth no more to me than the bounty due for her on Xandar.
A Ayesha
Our soldiers apprehended her attempting to steal the batteries. Do with her as you please.
We thank you, High Priestess Ayesha.
A Ayesha
What's your heritage, Mr. Quill?
A Ayesha
And your father?
He ain't from Missouri. That's all I know.
A Ayesha
I see it within you. An unorthodox genealogy. A hybrid that seems particularly…reckless.
You know, they told me you people were conceited douchebags. But that isn't true at all! [Rocket flashes a wink at Quill. Sovereign guards gasp and one of them aims his weapon at Rocket] Oh, shit, I'm using my wrong eye again, aren't I? [Drax pulls him up from his scruff] I'm sorry, that was meant to be behind your back.
[Putting Rocket down]
Count yourself blessed they didn't kill you.
You're tellin' me. [Shows Drax his stolen Anulax batteries] You wanna buy some batteries? [Drax laughs]
You know why I did it Star-Munch? Hmm?
I'm not gonna answer to "Star-Munch."
I did it because I wanted to.
What are we even talking about this for? We just had a little man save us by blowing up fifty ships!
Well, I don't know, like this? (he holds his fingers about an inch apart)
Gamora A little one-inch man saved us?
Well, if he got closer, I’m sure he would be much larger.
Yeah, that’s how eyesight works, you stupid raccoon.
[enraged]
DON'T CALL ME A RACCOON!
I’m sorry, I took it too far. I meant Trash Panda.
[Genuinely curious]
Is that better?
[chuckling]
It’s worse. It’s so much worse.
YOU SON OF A--! [furiously lunges at Quill]
I hired Yondu to pick you up after your mother passed away. But instead of returning you, Yondu kept you. I have no clue as to why.
I'll tell ya why: I was a skinny little kid who could slip into places adults couldn't, made it easier for thieving.
Well, I've been trying to track you down ever since.
I thought Yondu was your father.
What? You're trying to tell me that this whole time you thought Yondu was my actual blood relative?
[Mouthful]
You look exactly alike!
No, he's not my father! Yondu was the guy who abducted me, kicked the crap out of me so I could learn to fight and kept me in terror by threatening to eat me.
Gamora How'd you locate us now?
Well, even where I reside, out past the edge of what's known, we've heard tell about the man they call "Star-Lord." What say we head out there right now? Your associates are welcome. Even that triangle-faced monkey (Rocket) there.
Give me a break! After all this time, you're gonna show up, and all of a sudden you wanna be my dad?
Gamora I hear you.
And by the way, this could be a trap. The Kree purists, the Ravagers, they all want us dead.
Gamora I know, but…
Gamora What was that story you once told me about Zardu Hasselfrau?
Gamora He owned a magic boat?
[Long pause]
David Hasselhoff? Not a magic boat. A talking car.
Gamora Why did he talk again?
To help him fight crime, and to be supportive!
Gamora As a child, you would carry his picture in your pocket and you would tell all the other children that he was your father, but that he was out of town on business.
Hey, can I ask you a personal question?
[Shocked]
No! No one has ever asked me a personal question!
Your antennae, what are they for?
Yes. Quill and I have a bet.
Dude, you're not supposed to say that…
I say: if you are about to go through a doorway that is too low, your antenna will feel this and keep you from being decapitated.
Right. And, if it's anything other than specifically being decapitated by a doorway, I win.
They are not for feeling doorways! [Drax groans, and Quill pulls a victory fist] I think they have something to do with my emphatic abilities.
Gamora What are those?
If I touch someone, I can feel their feelings.
No. Telepaths know thoughts. Empaths feel feelings, emotions. May I?
[Touches Quill's hand]
You feel…love!
Yeah, I guess I feel a general, unselfish love for just about everybody around me…
No. Romantic, sexual love.
For her! [Points at Gamora]
[Beat as Gamora and Drax both stare at Quill] [Drax bursts into uproariously loud laughter]
Okay. That's--
She just told everyone your deepest, darkest secret!
Dude, come on, I think you're overreacting a little bit.
You must be so embarrassed! [To Mantis] Do me! Do me, do me!
[Touches Drax's chest and immediately starts laughing with him]
I have never felt such humor!
Over millions of years, I learned to control the molecules around me. I grew smarter and stronger, and I continued building from there, layer by layer, the very planet you walk on now. But I wanted more. I desired meaning. There must be some life out there in the universe. Besides me, I thought. So, I set myself the task of finding it. I created what I thought biological life to be like, down to the most minute detail.
Gamora What is wrong with you?
If he's a planet, how could he make a baby with your mother? He would smush her!
I don't need to hear how my parents, uh…
Why? My father would tell the story of him impregnating my mother every winter solstice.
[Affronted]
It was beautiful! You Earthers have hang-ups.
Yes, Drax, I got a penis.
[Drax interestingly stares at Ego's groin]
Ahhh.
[Quill and Gamora look beyond grossed out]
So, I guess this could all be mine someday.
Gamora Rocket? Rocket, are you there? [No call, but static on a caller, while she tries to get better signal, Quill touches her] What are you doing, Peter?
Gamora I'm not going to dance with you.
This is Sam Cooke, one of the greatest earth singers of all time. [They are dancing] Drax thinks you're not a dancer.
Gamora If you ever tell anyone about this, I will kill you.
When are we gonna do something about this unspoken thing between us?
Gamora What unspoken thing?
This Cheers, Sam and Diane, a guy and a girl on a TV show who dig each other, but never say it because if they do, the ratings would go down sort of thing.
Gamora There's no unspoken thing.
Well, it's a catch-22 because if you said it, then it would be spoken and you would be a liar. So, by not saying it you are telling the truth and admitting that there is.
Gamora No, that's not what I… [They stop dancing] What we should be discussing right now is something about this place. It doesn't feel right.
What are you talking about? You're the one who wanted me to come here!
Gamora That girl Mantis; she's afraid of something.
Why are you trying to take this away from me?
Gamora I'm not trying.
He's my father. He's blood.
Gamora You have blood on Earth and you never wanted to return there.
Again, you made me come here! And Earth is the place where my mother died right in front of me.
Gamora No, it's because that place is real, and this is a fantasy.
This is real! I'm only half-human, remember?
Gamora That's the half I'm worried about.
Oh, I get it. You're jealous because I'm part-god, and you like when I'm the weak one.
Gamora You were insufferable to begin with. I haven't been able to reach Rocket. I'm gonna go outside and I'm gonna try and get a signal.
You know what? This is not Cheers after all! This is whatever the show is where one person is willing to open themselves up to new possibility, and the other person is a jerk who doesn't trust anybody! It's a show that doesn't exist! That's why it would get zero ratings!
Gamora I don't know what Cheers is!
I finally found my family. Don't you understand that?
Gamora I thought you already had. [Leaves]
Gamora [After saving Nebula, only to be a stranglehold]
Are you kidding me?!
[Fights Gamora and chokes her while holding out the Godslayer, but ultimately doesn't kill her]
I win. I win. I bested you in combat.
Gamora No. I saved your life.
Well, you were stupid enough to let me live.
Gamora You let me live.
I don't need you always trying to beat me!
Gamora I'm not the one who just flew across the universe, just because I wanted to win.
Do not tell me what I want.
Gamora I don't need to tell you what you want, it's obvious!
You're the one who wanted to win, and I just wanted a sister! You were all I had. But you were the one who needed to win. Thanos pulled my eye from my head, and my brain from my skull, and my arm from my body. Because of you.
[Gamora grabs Mantis by the neck and slams her against a wall]
Hey!
Gamora Who are you people?! What is this place?!
Gamora The bodies in the caverns, who are they?!
You are scared. [Gamora lets go of Mantis's neck]
I call it the Expansion. It is my purpose. And now it’s yours as well.
Over thousands of years I implanted thousands of extensions of myself on thousands of worlds. I need to fulfill life’s one true purpose… to grow and spread…covering all that exists… until everything is… me.
Gamora [reacting with Mantis' powers]
What did she do to me?
She already told me everything.
I only had one problem. A single Celestial doesn’t have enough power for such an enterprise. But two Celestials… well, now, that just might do.
The bodies… are his children.
Out of all my labors… the most beguiling was…attempting to graft my DNA with that of another species. I hoped the result of such a coupling would be enough…to power the Expansion. I had Yondu deliver some of them to me. It broke the Ravager code, but I compensated him generously… and to ease his conscience, I said I’d never hurt them. I mean, that was true. They never felt a thing. But one after the other, they failed me. Not one of them carried the Celestial genes. Until you, Peter. Out of all my spawn… only you carried the connection to the light.
Gamora We need to find Peter now and get off this damn planet.
Ego will have won him to his side by now. He has a way of -
Gamora No. He’s our friend.
All any of you do is yell at each other. You’re not friends.
You’re right. We’re family. We leave no one behind. [To Nebula] Except maybe you.
For the first time in my existence... I am truly NOT ALONE! [Turns to see Peter looking doubtful] What is it, son?
Now, well, you see, that's the mortal in you, Peter.
We are beyond such things.
But my mother... you said you loved my mother.
And that I did. My River Lily, who knew all the words to every song that came over the radio. I returned to Earth to see her three times, and I knew if I returned a fourth, well... I'd never leave. The Expansion... the reason for my very existence would be over, so I did what I had to do. But... it broke my heart to put that tumor in her head.
[Outraged, shaking off Ego's influence]
What?!
Now, now, all right, I know that sounds bad--
[Quill repeatedly shoots Ego's avatar with his Quad Blasters, leaving several holes] [Reforming]
Who... in the HELL do you think you are?!
I tried so hard to find the form... [Changes into David Hasselhoff] ...that best suited you, and this is the thanks I get?! [Changes back] You really need to grow up! [Pierces Quill with a tendril of energy] I wanted to do this together, but I suppose you'll have to learn by spending the next thousand years as a BATTERY!
Gamora Nebula, I was a child like you, trying to live day by day, not knowing or understanding what that meant to you. There are many other girls out there, like us. You can stay with us, and help them.
I will help them, by killing Thanos.
Gamora I don't know if that's possible.
Gamora [Nebula goes to leave, only for Gamora to stop her from doing so. Nebula gets ready to fight, only to stop once she realizes that's not what Gamora's trying to do]
You will always be my sister.
[Gamora embraces Nebula in a hug. She stiffens up at first, then eventually hugs Gamora back, before finally departing]
[About Yondu]
He didn't chase them away.
[On Yondu's former Ravager teammates]
Even though he yelled at them, he was always mean, and stole batteries he didn't need. [Bows head in shame]
[Looks down at Rocket]
Well, of course not.
[Gamora looks up at him, who looks back down at her curiously]
What?
Gamora It's just…some unspoken thing.
[Quill gives her a small and smug "I told you so" smirk. She wraps her arm around his waist as he wraps his arm around her shoulders]
It's beautiful.
It is. And so are you: on the inside.
