Synopsis / Summary / Plot
The early life of Gamora continues, with occasional voiceover by her present self telling her history to someone as yet unknown.
Last issue the troops of both Thanos and the Magus wiped out all the Zen-Whoberis except a young girl. The Titan has taken notice of her because she like him could see his love Death who then vanished away. He tells Ballista Grim of Butcher Squad to bring her onboard the shuttle Sepulcher which will carry them back to the starbase Zero Sanctuary. The Squad wonder what he wants her for. Infesti Macera thinks he might want to eat her but Proxima Midnight says he only kills people. They shut up when the boss joins them and tells Ebony Maw to keep the girl quiet.
Later on Sanctuary Maw visits the girl in her jail cell and offers her food in exchange for information. She tells him she's Gamora, 13, and starts to talk about her dead family. But Maw wants to know why Thanos is interested in her so he tries to hypnotise her. But she throws the food in his face and stabs him in the leg with a fork and then presses a button on his belt which opens her cage. She runs away and Maw recruits the rest of his Squad to help find her.
Thanos consults his computer which informs him that although they killed all the other Zen-Whoberis the Magus still managed to covert to his Universal Church Of Truth 14,000 non-Whoberis who were on the planet at the time. The AI has no info on the insignificant girl so the Titan asks about the Zen-Whoberis' beliefs about Death (who now appears behind him). Apparently death is just seen as a transformation, and a peaceful death is to be desired. This is no help, but before he can think any more about it he hears the voice of the Magus taunting him and causing him pain.
The 2 Blood Brothers (R'Hos and Gh'Ree) are now replacements in Butcher Squad for Ferox who disappeared last issue (killed by Thanos as an offering to Death). Scheming Ebony Maw claims that he deliberately let Gamora escape to gain her trust. But now they'll find her and return her to Thanos who will realise how easily she could be taken away from him again. And the crew will see that the boss isn't infallible. The others don't think much of this plan.
Meanwhile Thanos can't believe that Magus can invade his sanctum and asks the computer to analyse the voice. The AI says "What voice?". But the girl happens to stumble into the room and it turns out she heard the voice too, and it hurt *her*. She introduces herself as Gamora, and she's learned he's Captain Thanos. She asks where they're going but he says this isn't a spaceship it's a space station. He tells her he built it (or at least oversaw its building) and she tells him it's ramshackle and falling apart (which is true). He wants to know how she saw Death and how she escaped her cell.
Butcher Squad have split into 2 search teams. Ebony Maw thinks he heard something in a vent and tells the Blood Bothers to open it. So 1 of them just rips the grill off, but there's nothing there. Proxima Midnight takes command via a comm link and tells R'Hos and Gh'Ree to watch the corridors near the Mess Hall. She sends Ballista and Infesti to search the storage lockers and lock each 1. She'll meet Maw by the Common Room. But Thanos broadcasts a command for them all to report to his quarters.
The Blood Brothers don't seem to get the message but the other 4 find Gamora there with the boss. He wants someone to confess to letting the girl out. But *she* claims to have escaped on her own. Ebony Maw suggest they sedate her until they find out how to keep her secure. Thanos says he now knows who did it but still wants Gamora to name the culprit. She sticks to her story until he threatens to kill her if she refuses. So she grabs a knife from Infesti Macera and threatens Thanos with it. Everyone else aims their guns at her but Thanos just laughs. He decides to let her live because she amuses him. He tells the Squad to take her back to her, feed her and give her a book to read to pass the time.
But then he turns to Infesti and blames him for letting Gamora get his knife. He also says he's overheard everything they've said about him and so he confirms what they suspected that he needs to kill from time to time. And he kills Macera. He gave them the chance to sacrifice the most ambitious among them but they left it up to him to choose. Now as they suspected he will have a new genocide for them tomorrow. And we see Death with him again.
Gamora's voiceover says that at this point she knew she was safe in Thanos' hands.