- "We just wait around for this Quill guy to show up and then he leads us to the Power Stone, is that it?"
"Let's take cover. We're not the only ones in 2014 looking for the stones." - ―War Machine and Nebula[src]
The Theft of the Power Stone was a plan executed by the Avengers as a part of their Time Heist, in which Nebula and War Machine were tasked to travel back in time 2014 to retrieve the Orb on Morag.
Background
- "Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag."
"Is that a person?"
"No, Morag's a planet. Quill was a person." - ―Rocket Raccoon and Bruce Banner[src]
In 2014, Peter Quill stole the Orb from Morag, intending to sell it to the Broker. The Orb actually turned out to be the container for the Power Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones which was targeted by the Kree Ronan the Accuser, who had been asked by Thanos to retrieve it. In the aftermath of the Battle of Xandar, the Power Stone was kept in the Nova Corps Headquarters[1], but it was later stolen by Thanos, who used it alongside the other stones to wipe out half of the universe's population.[2]
Five years after the Snap, having discovered that they could use the Quantum Realm and Tony Stark's Time-Space GPS to travel through time and space, the Avengers hatched a Time Heist, in which they would travel to the past and amass the six Infinity Stones in order to undo the Snap. Nebula and Rocket Raccoon, the only surviving Guardians of the Galaxy, told the Avengers about Quill's actions, prompting the Avengers to return to year 2014 and steal the Power Stone before Quill did. Nebula and War Machine were thus tasked with stealing the Power Stone from Morag.[3]
Theft
- "This is the part where spikes come out, with skeletons on the end and everything..."
"What are you talking about?"
"When you break into a place called the "Temple of the Power Stone", there's gonna be a bunch of booby traps– Okay. All right. Go ahead." - ―War Machine and Nebula[src]
Having arrived on Morag in year 2014, War Machine and Nebula waited for Peter Quill to come on the planet as well. Quill eventually showed up and the two watched him dance while listening to his Walkman. As Quill was about to reach the Temple Vault containing the Orb, War Machine knocked him unconscious, enabling Nebula to steal his thief tool.
Nebula and War Machine approached the Temple Vault and War Machine remarked how the room was probably booby-trapped, but to his surprise, Nebula entered without listening to his warnings and remained unharmed. Nebula then reached for the Orb through a forcefield, burning her arm. Unfazed by the pain, she grabbed the Orb, handed it over to War Machine and blew out fire on her now burnt arm.
War Machine and Nebula prepare to go back
Their task being completed, War Machine and Nebula synced up their Time-Space GPS and prepared to return into their timeline. However, although War Machine left without any problem, Nebula was kept from doing so. Indeed, her presence in a timeline where there was already another version of Nebula caused her to freeze and fall on the ground, losing consciousness as the two Nebula's memories were entangled.[3]
Aftermath
Kidnapping of Nebula
Nebula is captured by her past-self
Nebula eventually regained full consciousness and figured out that Thanos, having accessed the other Nebula's memories, knew that the Avengers were trying to undo what his alternate version had done in their timeline. Nebula attempted to warn her colleagues, but she was captured by Thanos and the Black Order, leading to her replacement by the other Nebula, who still carried out Thanos' orders.
Once taken to 2023, the Power Stone was extracted from the Orb and placed within the Nano Gauntlet, created by Tony Stark, Hulk and Rocket Raccoon. As a result, the Avengers were able to reverse the effects of the Snap, unaware that it was an hostile Nebula who had joined them in their timeline. This Nebula attempted to steal back all the Infinity Stones and to enable Thanos' army to invade Earth in the process, but she was ultimately defeated by her alternate self and Gamora, who had decided to join with the original version of Nebula.[3]
Return to Morag
Steve Rogers takes the Infinity Stones back
- "Remember, you have to return the stones at the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities."
"Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches." - ―Hulk and Captain America[src]
Following the Battle of Earth, the Power Stone was placed in a suitcase and given to Steve Rogers, who traveled back in time to 2014 in order to return the stone to Morag, albeit without the Orb.[3]
Behind the Scenes
- In an early version of the script of Avengers: Endgame, the Avengers traveled to Morag before the Quest for the Orb, when the planet was still flooded. Because of the complexity of the piece, the idea was quickly abandoned.[4]