Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Chapter 7

Royal Palace, Sovereign

"I'm disappointed."

He'd expected as such and done everything he could to mentally prepare for the confrontation. Yet still, Adam flinched, then cursed himself. Flinching was a sign of weakness, and that was the last thing he needed right now.

"I created you for the sole purpose of destroying the Guardians." Ayesha's tone remained unnervingly calm as she stared down at him from her throne. "And yet, for all the perfection I put into you, you malfuction the moment you come face to face with them."

The words were like a steamroller to an already flattened ego, and despite every instinct telling him not to, Adam looked up to face his creator and started to rise from his bow. "High Priestess, I—"

He stopped when Ayesha raised a hand, her gaze hardening. "Did I give you permission to speak?"

No, but he'd wanted to apologize—no, he hadn't. What he'd done couldn't be solved with an "apology." He'd failed his mission, he'd failed his people, and he'd failed his sole purpose. He didn't deserve the comfort an apology would give.

At least, that's what the thoughts swirling about in his head told him.

"No, High Priestess." He lowered his gaze again and started to sink back down into a bow, but a wave of Ayesha's hand stopped him.

"You may remain standing." She considered him for a moment, the silence near unbearable, before remarking, "Fortunately for you, there is a way we can prevent any further shortcomings..."

At that, Adam perked up, and his spirits only lifted more when the click of footsteps sounded from behind him as the High Evolutionary strode into the throne room. The man paused to give Adam a concerned look before stepping past him to the foot of Ayesha's throne.

"I thought I asked to not be disturbed while on my ship."

Ayesha ignored him, her focus still set on Adam as she continued with her speech. "In your creation, I sought to endow you with powers to rival the gods...and the entities." She spat the word out like it was poison, and in the back of Adam's mind, something flickered, but never cleared. "And so, I attempted to sew our people's finest source of power into your veins, the very same power that our beloved batteries use as fuel. While they require charging ports and technology to harvest such a gift, you need only a thought. It was a terribly tricky bit of genetic coding, but nothing I couldn't handle. Unfortunately, it appears you do require some way to refine such a power, lest it render you unconscious and at the mercy of a hundred dirty animals."

Adam winced at her last words. Darkness had claimed him long before he hit the streets of Counter Earth, but the Sovereign rescue team had awakened him just in time to get pelted by one last rock before they managed to subdue the mob of disgusting civilians.

Adam wasn't sure why the people were "disgusting." It was simply the first adjective that presented itself to him.

"High Evolutionary." Ayesha's voice snapped Adam out of his thoughts. "Have you finished what we discussed?"

The High Evolutionary considered the question, then looked to Adam before turning back to Ayesha. "It's not perfect, but—"

"Of course it's not. I would never expect such glorious achievements out of you."

The High Evolutionary bristled, and for a moment, Adam feared he would snap on the High Priestess, but the man maintained his steady composure. "I am confident in my design, High Priestess. But I've barely been at it for a year, and it's completely untested. The procedure alone could—"