Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Time. Space. Reality. It's more than a linear path. It's a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones you know. Each a reflection of what could have been. Some heroes will rise, others will fall. And nothing will be the same. I am the Watcher. I am your guide through these vast new realities. Follow me and dare to face the unknown, and ponder the question... What if?"

The Dragon Saver Presents

A “Guardians of the Galaxy” Story

“Batch 89: The Awesome Mix”

            Sire had lied to them.

            Sire had lied to them.

            Sire had lied to them.

            Those words kept repeating through Rocket’s head as he muttered to himself, picking up the pieces of machinery he’d hidden around his cage. Sire had promised him a paradise, a place where he and his friends could live in a new world as His perfect creations. Rocket had even figured out the flaw in Sire’s evolution machine that He couldn’t even solve. And how had Rocket been repaid for his efforts.

            Sire had laughed at Rocket. To his face. All Sire cared about what Rocket’s brain, his intelligence that rivaled that of his creators. Rocket couldn’t care less about how smart he was. All he wanted was to build a spaceship so he and his friends could fly off into the forever and beautiful sky. They could all fly away together: Rocket, Floor, Teefs, and-

            “Rocket?” came a soft voice from the other cage. He looked up to meet the eyes of his first friend- the one who taught him what a “friend” even was. “Rocket, what’s wrong?” Lylla asked again.        

            Rocket looked at the device he had made in his hands, the one that would free himself and his friends so they could escape. “Lylla… I… I did it. I solved Sire’s problem.”

            “That’s good, Rocket,” Lylla smiled.

            “Friends go to new world now!” Floor chimed in, bobbing happily on her spider-like appendages.

            “No, we don’t go, Floor,” Rocket shook his head.

            “What do you mean, Rocket?” Teefs asked, looking at his friend in confusion.

            “Sire… He says we aren’t made for the new world,” Rocket said. “That we’re… broken, imperfect.”

            “But Sire only makes perfect things,” Teefs said.

            “We not broken. We work fine,” Floor added.

            “Sire doesn’t think so. He said that we’re… going to be taken care of tomorrow,” Rocket said. He looked at the device in his hands. “We need to leave. Now. Or else we won’t be able to see the sky…” As he spoke, Rocket’s ears twitched a bit, pulling the words from his throat as a sound that wasn’t supposed to be there echoed faintly. Rocket recognized the sound: the sound of Sire’s shoes on the floor.

            Rocket’s mind went into overdrive at the implications of that sound. ‘Of course,’ he thought. ‘Sire wouldn’t tell me what he was going to do to my friends and not expect me to act out. He just wants my brain, after all. Why waste the time with the rest of my body?’

            “Rocket? No lies,” Floor suddenly said. “Friends don’t lie to friends. Rocket don’t lie to friends, yes?”

            Rocket realized the position he was in right now. If he tried to escape now, there was a likely chance that Sire would kill him and his friends. But if he didn’t act at all, then they would die anyway. So he did what he could at the moment, what he could say to make sure they had a chance of escaping. “No Floor… It was just a joke,” Rocket said.

            “A joke?” Teefs chuckled. “Rocket has a weird since of humor.”

            “Ha Ha Ha! Rocket tells jokes!” Floor laughed.

            “Yeah… Just wanted to try something new…” Rocket chuckled, though he felt awful for having to lie to his friends. He slipped the completed device under the straw that covered the floor of his cage, putting it near the door. “Well, we have a big day tomorrow. Might as well get some sleep.”

            “Yes! Sleep now, see new world tomorrow!” Floor nodded, hopping over to her preferred sleeping spot.

            “Well then, good night, everyone,” Teefs yawned, rolling over to where he slept as well.

            Rocket laid down at the edge of the cage on his back, looking up at the ceiling of his cage, trying to think of what he should do. “Rocket, did you lie to Teefs and Floor?” Lylla asked quietly, laying opposite to him.

            “They wouldn’t be able to accept the truth,” Rocket said. “I had to lie to make sure we can all get out of here alive. You believe me, don’t you, Lylla?”

            Lylla reached one of her robotic arms through the bars of the cage, taking hold of Rocket’s own. “I trust you, Rocket. If Sire is lying about the new world, then I trust that you tell the truth. Sire may have created us, but he is not our friend. Friends trust friends… but you should apologize to Teefs and Floor.”

            “I will,” Rocket nodded, squeezing her hand with his own. “Once we get out of here, I’ll tell them everything. And we can explore the forever sky, together…”

[***]

            The High Evolutionary did not like to have his time wasted. He stood just outside the room where Batch 89 was held for an hour before determining that staying there would be a fruitless effort. The mad scientist concluded that, despite his hypothesis on Subject 89P13 planning for and implementing an escape for Batch 89, he had been wrong in the raccoon’s actions once again.

            “It seems that Subject 89P13 has fallen into despair upon hearing of his fate,” The High Evolutionary stated to one of his Recorders as they went about beginning the final stages of his Counter-Earth project. “Make sure that it and the rest of Batch 89 are terminated first thing in the morning. For now, let us continue with the evolution process. My perfect utopia is at hand now.”

            “Um, sir-” another Recorder suddenly entered the room.

            “WHAT IS IT YOU WANT!?!” The High Evolutionary screamed, making the Recorder flinch. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something!?!”

            “Sorry, Sire, it’s just that… there was a breach in the holding cells,” the Recorder explained.

            The High Evolutionary quickly moved over to his control console pulling up the map of the cell block area. He looked at the map and tapped on where the breach was, finding both the open cells of Batch 89 and a knocked-out guard and Recorder on the floor. Slowly turning to the Recorder, The High Evolutionary tilted his head, making his servant struggle as they were grabbed by his telekinetic grip.

            “You let them escape!?!” The High Evolutionary shouted.

            “They escaped on their own and took out the guard!” the Recorder stammered. “Subject 89P13… he outsmarted us, Sire!”

            “I want all guards hunting down Batch 89. NOW!” the madman shouted, his men all quickly rushing out to spread the word and raise the alarm.

            “We’re you already planning on terminating them, Sire?” his Recorder asked. “Surely losing a few faulty experiments wouldn’t be so bad?”

            “I want Subject 89P13’s brain, and I can’t have it if he’s not here!” The High Evolutionary stated. “You can kill the rest of them for all I care, but I need 89P13’s head intact for further research.”

            “Sire! Batch 89 continues to evade capture!” a guard called over the intercom.

            “The rabbit is surprisingly flighty!” called another. More guards kept chiming in.

            “Who thought it was good idea to put a ton of fat on wheels!?!”

            “The raccoon has a gun! I repeat: Subject 89P13 has a gun!”

            “This would be so adorable if they weren’t attacking us right now!”

            “Everyone SHUT UP!” The High Evolutionary screamed, his powers pulsing out again. The coms went silent after that, the mad scientist panting as he looked out the window from his desk, catching the faintest glimpse of a spaceship leaving the atmosphere of Counter-Earth.

            “…Uh, Sire…?” a nervous Recorder peaked into the room. “Batch 89 just escaped on a… You know what, you look like you already knew that… I’m just gonna… go now…” The cybernetic person quickly fled as his master roared out in anger.

[***]

            “Sky! Sky! Sky!” Floor chanted, rapidly bouncing around the cockpit of the ship Rocket had stolen. Despite never having flown a ship before, he found the controls had come naturally to him, like a fish to water.

            “The sky is beautiful…” Teefs said in awe, his face pressed against the glass.

            “And it’s all ours to explore, together,” Rocket nodded. “Sorry I lied to you guys, but it was the only way for us to get out of there.”

            “Friend Rocket no lie. Rocket surprise friends with game!” Floor giggled. “Guards acting silly when Floor pounced them! Fall to ground and not get up! Silly guards.”

            “Sure, Floor, let’s go with that,” Rocket sighed, though he couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s wide-eyed naiveite. It was something he wished he could still have.

            “It truly is beautiful here,” Lylla breathed, taking a seat next to Rocket. “Where should we go first?”

            “I… I never thought of where I’d go once I got out here,” Rocket admitted. “How about… we just go wherever this ship takes us? You see a planet; we can go there.” He smiled as he looked out into the endless sea of stars surrounding them. “Then, we’ll find some parts and make a new, better ship… and, and I don’t know what we’ll do after that, but I just want to do it all with you.”

            Lylla nodded. “Yes. It’s good to have friends.”

            “Yeah. Yeah, it is…” Rocket agreed. He didn’t know where they would end up first, but he was just glad to be alive and free in the moment.

            For about a month or so (none of them were really keen on keeping track of time at the moment), Rocket and his friends simply explored the galaxy at their leisure. They had no big plans or goals, just a couple of illegal genetic experiments roaming space together. Of course, the fun couldn’t last forever, and soon Rocket had to make a longer pitstop for the gang to both rest up and to make repairs to their ship. The old thing had seen better days since the gang had stolen it, and Rocket decided it was high time he actually started building one for himself.

            “Welp, here we are,” Rocket said as Batch 89 exited their ship. “Sakaar, the dumping grounds of the galaxy. I’m sure we’ll find plenty of parts to make a ship of our own.”

            “Trash. Lots of trash,” Floor noted, skittering between junk piles.

            “Yeah, but there is the phrase “One man’s trash in another man’s treasure”,” Rocket recalled. “Just make sure you steer clear of raiders out here. They like to throw things into their death matches in the big city apparently.”

            “We’ll be careful,” Rocket,” Teefs nodded. The walrus rolled on after Floor, but the uneven terrain made it hard for his wheels to navigate. Eventually, Teefs found himself stuck in place as a large piece of shrapnel managed to puncture one of the tires. “Oh dear… It appears that I’m stuck.”

            “We’ll get you out of there, big guy,” Rocket said. He, Lylla, and Floor all worked together to push Teefs back to the ship, settling him down in the main area they’d been using for sleep. “Aw crud, how are we going to fix this one?” Rocket cursed. “It’s not like we’re just going to find another tire like this one lying around, at least not in a usable condition.”

            “I’m sorry guys. I should have been watching where I was going,” Teefs apologized.

            “There’s no need to apologize, Teefs. We just never thought we’d be in this situation,” Lylla assured her friend.

            “But what now? If Teefs has no wheel, then Teefs can’t go,” Floor asked.

            “We’ll have to figure something out,” Rocket replied. The raccoon went over to one of the ship’s compartments and pulled out a small box roughly the size of a book, along with a disk. “Here, we can use that disk I “borrowed” of the Recorder we jumped. That guy was always following Sire around when I was taken out of the cage, so I’m sure he had to have some information on us.”

            Inserting the disk into the box, the device lit up with a hologram displaying all sorts of information. “What’s it say?” Teefs asked.

            “Well, it’s a bunch of notes on all of us,” Rocket said, pointing to the title of the file Batch 89 Schematics and Biometrics. “Basically, if I just do this…” He tapped the subfile labeled 89A95, which showed notes on Teefs. That raccoon looked more concerned the more he read through the file.

            “These changes… they all look incredibly inefficient,” Lylla said, making Rocket look at her in confusion.

            “What do you mean?” Rocket asked.

            “The way Sire made Teefs… it doesn’t seem very efficient,” Lylla reiterated. She pointed at some of the pictures in the file, one showing a standard Earth Walrus, and the other showing Teefs post-uplift. “While Teefs does have better mobility and use of his upper flippers, his base anatomy was not fully taken into account when making the modifications. It would have been more efficient to give a walrus faux limbs for dexterity while keeping their body low to the ground, as to not cause any discomfort in the changed posture.”

            “You… got all that from just looking at these pictures?” Rocket said in surprise.

            Lylla scratched her head, right where the High Evolutionary had opened up her skull during his experimentation with augmenting her brain. “I can’t explain it, but a part of me just looks at this and understands what’s wrong with Teefs’ current state.”

            “…Like me whenever I figured out the flaw in Sire’s machine. I just knew what was wrong,” Rocket said in realization. “Lylla, you’re a genius!”

            “Oh… Well, thank you, Rocket, but you’re the smart one here,” Lylla said modestly.

            Rocket smiled at her. “No, seriously, you’re a genius, Ly. It takes serious brains to notice something like that right off the bat. I might now how to fix machines and stuff, but you might just have me beat when it comes to medical know-how.”

            “Well, I am the one that’s been taking care of all of us whenever we get hurt,” Lylla noted.

            “Yes, yes! Lylla makes the boo-boos go away!” Floor nodded.

            “You have a big heart, Lylla, always taking good care of us,” Teefs added. “So, do you think you can fix my wheel, then?”

            Rocket and Lylla looked at each other and nodded. “Oh, we’re going to do better than fix your wheel, Teefs. I think it’s time that we all get some upgrades to the “gifts” Sire left us with. Lylla can figure out what we need to do to get you back on your… flippers, and I’ll go scavenge up some parts do that.”

            “Upgrades?” Floor questioned. “Like Rocket wants to make for ship?”

            “Yeah, like that,” Rocket nodded. “But I’m only doing this if you guys want me to. I’m not going to be like Sire, tearing our bodies apart and putting them back together however he damn pleased. You got that?”

            Floor tilted her head, processing his words before nodding. “Floor understand. Sire make us, but Sire also make hurt. Rocket wants to fix us, but not hurt friends.” She suddenly gasped. “Can Friend Rocket and Friend Lylla upgrade Floor too!?!”

            “Anything you want, Floor,” Rocket chuckled. “But we gotta work on Teefs first. Wanna go find the parts to do that?” The rabbit eagerly accepted, happily following her friend out into the junkyard planet to scavenge for parts that they needed, while Lylla stayed behind to further study the intricacies of each of their unique physiologies.

            Time passed, and soon Rocket had enough parts to fix Teefs’ wheels and then some. The raccoon had created a belt of sorts that wrapped around the walrus’ waist where his wheels usually connected, which allowed for a new set of collapsible wheels to be attached, thus giving Teefs the option to roll around upright or fold the wheels in and move around on his belly. Additionally, Rocket created a collar for Teefs that held various tools inside that the walrus could control mentally, since he had expressed interest in helping around the ship with mechanics that Rocket was eager to teach.

            In the process of all this, Lylla was disturbed to find that the High Evolutionary had installed a failsafe in each of their hearts that acted as a kill switch should any sort of medical device be used on them. “Luckily there seems to be a copy of the deactivation codes for each of us in here,” Lylla said. “I just need to upload them into our cybernetics to turn off the kill switch.”

            “Yeah, I’d like to not die because of some device latched onto my heart, thank you very much,” Rocket said. No one else disagreed with that notion.

            Once that was done, Rocket went about making other upgrades for his friends, as well as upgrading their ship in the meantime. Floor wanted to be able to feel the ground like her friends did, so Lylla and Rocket figured out a way to do just that. By adjusting the ports Floor’s spider-like appendages, Rocket was able to let them retract and create a brace around her torso that stabilized Floor enough to let her stand on her own legs, while Lylla used her medical knowledge to restart the nerves in Floor’s limbs. She would be shaky for the first few weeks, and her forepaws didn’t have the same enhancements as Lylla and Rocket to hold objects, but the rabbit was happy to be able to hug her friends anyways.

            “Is there anything we can do about her mouth guard?” Rocket asked. “I mean, she can eat just fine, but would it hurt her to do so?”

            “I think it’s safe to remove, if we do it carefully,” Lylla nodded. “From what I’m reading here, Sire put it in place so Floor would stop biting him…”

            “Floor can take it!” Floor insisted. “Floor want to smile like friends do!” And after some careful tinkering, she was able to do just that.

            Days went by, and soon enough their ship was ready to fly again. The entire thing was made more aerodynamic and added in small living quarters for each of them, with Rocket making sure to update the weapon systems and the friends all pitching in for a new paintjob, coloring the ship a sleek chrome with orange-yellow detailing.

            “Well guys, we did it!” Rocket nodded. “Now to get off this junk planet and back out into the sky!”

            “Yay! Sky, sky, sky!” Floor bounced around the ship.

            “It will be nice getting a change of scenery,” Teefs nodded.

            As the two headed up to their seats in the new cockpit, Rocket stopped Lylla from following them. “Lylla, there’s one last thing I wanted to show you,” he said.

            “What is it, Rocket?” she asked.

            Nervously the raccoon went to one of the ship’s compartments and came back with a box. Opening it up, Lylla looked down and pulled out what appeared to be a pair of small prosthetic arms made from durable fibers. “What are these for?” the otter asked.

            “These are… These are for you,” Rocket said. “I know you didn’t ask if for new arms, but when I was working on the parts for Floor and Teefs, I may have set some parts aside to work on these.” He gave a cough. “Not that I think you need new arms, you’re great just as you are, but I just… wanted you to have the option.”

            Lylla looked at the raccoon, a warm feeling coming to her chest as she did. “Rocket… Thank you.” She gave him a smile, making the warm feeling bubble up in Rocket as well. “So, will you help me put these on?”

            Rocket nodded, moving behind Lylla to have better access to her cybernetics. He carefully used his claws to press down into divots on her collarbone, her arm sockets making a hissing noise as her old arms fell to the ground with a thud. Rocket then picked up each of Lylla’s new arms and put them into place, the devices giving a click as the connecting wires latched into the sockets.

            “Okay Ly… This might tickle a bit,” Rocket said, stepping in front of her. “I’m going to activate your new arms now…” The raccoon carefully pressed in on different divots on Lylla’s collarbone, the otter giving a small yelp as a jolt of electricity went over her body as the new arms fully connected to her nervous system.

            Lylla shuttered a bit, before noticing a new feeling she’d never felt before. The otter let out a gasp as she raised her arm, flexing the fingers and watching as the simulated fiber “muscles” expanded and contracted with each movement. “I can… feel them…” Lylla whispered. While she was able to pick up and touch things with her old arms, the otter had never been able to truly feel anything with the crude imitations of arms the High Evolutionary had “gifted” her with.

            “Yeah. They’re a bit basic, but I wanted to make sure you could have a full range of touch with those,” Rocket nodded.

            Lylla smiled, tears coming to her eyes as she rushed into Rocket, holding him tight and rubbing her snout against his neck. The raccoon stiffened, feeling the heat in his chest rise to his face before returning the hug. “Thank you, Rocket…” Lylla sniffled. “It’s nice to able to feel this…”

            “Lylla cry?” Floor asked, popping her head into the room.

            “Is everything okay?” Teefs added.

            “I’m fine,” Lylla smiled. “More than fine, actually. These are happy tears.”

            “Tears can be happy?” Floor questioned.

            “Sometimes,” Lylla nodded.

            “…Can Floor join hug?” the rabbit asked.

            “Get over her, you guys,” Rocket rolled his eyes. Floor happily jumped into the hug, with Teefs scooping up all of them in his flippers as well. The quartet just held there for a moment, feeling the warmth between them. ‘This… This is nice…’ Rocket thought.

            The moment was unfortunately interrupted, however, by the sound of another ship landing nearby. Looking out the open ramp, the group of friends saw a human-looking woman with white marks on her face striding up to them.

            “Excuse me. We were in the middle of something,” Rocket said to the newcomer.

            The lady quirked an eyebrow at him. “A talking rabbit?”

            “No, Floor is rabbit. Rocket is raccoon,” Floor said, oblivious to the situation.

            The woman shrugged. “Eh, there’ve been worse champions.” She then held up her wrist and tagged each of the four with a small device, which soon sent an electrical shock through their systems, knocking them out.

            “Oh, flark me…” Rocket cursed as he fell to the ground.

Chapter Text

“On the planet Sakaar, a being known as the Grandmaster rules over his own corner of space. He finds the greatest warriors, willing or not, to compete in his arena for pleasure and sport. That is where our quartet of modified mammals have found themselves now, but they are not alone in this endeavor…”

            Rocket shook his head from unconsciousness, vision blurry as he awoke in an unfamiliar place. The first thing he noticed was that he was strapped down to a chair, which brought back bad memories of the High Evolutionary’s experiments. The second thing that came into focus was the humanoid man standing over him, poking at Rocket’s fur with intrigue as his eyes scanned over the raccoon’s body. Rocket tried to bite his finger, but the man quickly pulled his hand away.

            “Ah, it seems we have a biter here,” the man, his speech pattern distinctly… well, Rocket could only describe it as “unique” in his mind.

            “Where the hell am I?” Rocket asked.

            “And it speaks. Fascinating,” the man laughed. “You really brought me something special this time, Scrapper 142. And this little… thing had friends with him as well?”

            “Yes, Grandmaster. She brought four of them in total,” said a woman in a yellow spacesuit standing next to the man, whom Rocket was to assume was named “Grandmaster.”

            “Good, good-good-good. Bring them all in for me, Topaz. I want to see the whole set,” Grandmaster said. The woman, Topaz, pressed a button, bringing up three other chairs next to Rocket that held his friends.

            “Hello Rocket!” Floor greeted, oblivious to the danger.

            “Hey Floor…” Rocket sighed.

            “Wait, that one is named Floor?” Grandmaster questioned.

            “Yes, because I am on the floor… or, I’m usually on the floor. Now I’m in chair, but I’m still Floor,” Floor replied.

            “You know, Topaz, I don’t think I’ve ever seen creatures quite like these before,” Grandmaster mused. “I bet my brother would pay big bucks to get even one of these guys into his collection… but he said that about the last contestant I found as well, and I’m not about to let him take one of my champions.”

            “Excuse me, but what is all this exactly?” Teefs asked politely.

            “Ah, right, I haven’t even introduced myself,” Grandmaster said. He flicked his hand, causing the chairs to start following him around as he, Topaz, and Scrapper 142 followed him. “My name is the Grandmaster, ruler of Sakaar and the head honcho of the Contest of Champions. We have the greatest selection of warriors fight it out to the death for my amusement, and the four of you are the newest contestants.”

            “But we’re not fighters,” Lylla said. “Just creatures looking to live our lives out in the stars. We didn’t even mean to stay here on this planet for as long as we did!”

            “Hey, anyone that captured by one of my Scrappers is fair game for the Contest of Champions,” Grandmaster shrugged indifferently. “Besides… Topaz, what information did you get on these guys?”

            “These creatures have markings similar to the experiments of the High Evolutionary,” Topaz replied.

            “Ah, yes, that guy. Pretty sure I’ve gotten a few champions from him before in exchange for funding one of his projects…” Grandmaster muttered to himself. “Anyways, get them fitted for detainment, Scrapper 142, and introduce them to their fellow champions. We do have the big event coming up soon.”

            “Hey, you can’t just keep us here!” Rocket objected, tugging at his restraints again. “I didn’t bust me and my friends out of a cage just to be put back in-!” The raccoon seized up as Scrapper 142 activated the device in his neck, sending electric shocks over his body. While it would be painful for anyone, Rocket’s cybernetic parts made it hurt more.

            Batch 89 was soon dragged through an ordeal, forcefully washed and made “presentable” by the Grandmaster’s servants. The four were then tossed into cells underneath the main arena of the Grandmaster’s palace. “Keep this one separate from the others. He seems like their leader,” Topaz ordered. Rocket didn’t have time to protest as he was separated from his friends, tossed unceremoniously into a dark cell across from Lylla, Floor, and Teefs.

            “Caged again, caged again…” Floor fretted, hopping around the cell nervously.

            Lylla took hold of the rabbit, giving comforting whispers to her friend. “It’s okay, Floor. We’ll find a way out of this. Rocket will come up with a plan, I’m sure of it.”

            “This is still unideal for us,” Teefs hummed, pulling himself onto one of the cots in the cell.

            “Don’t worry guys, I’ll figure this out,” Rocket called. He looked around his cell, crawling over every inch of the place to find any structural weaknesses. Unfortunately there didn’t seem to be any, any the door of the cell was blocked by a laser gate. The only thing that the cell held in it, besides a toilet and wall-mounted cot, was a weird-looking tree situated in one of the far corners.

            ‘Eh, maybe I can pull of some bark, try to pull open the laser gate that way…’ Rocket thought. He went over to the tree, and tried pulling at the wood, but found that it was stuck onto the trunk fairly well that even his claws couldn’t pick it off. “Geez… this thing is stuck… some kinda super-tree or something…” Rocket grunted. The raccoon was unaware of the roots of the tree sneaking out, curling underneath his feet before latching on and pulling Rocket into the air upside-down. “Woah! What the-!?!”

            The treen suddenly stood up, revealing themselves to be a tree-like humanoid that stood nearly seven feet tall. “I. Am. Groot!” the tree shouted in Rocket’s face, the raccoon flinching as he got sap spit in his face.

            “Woah there, big guy. I was just looking to get some of your bark. I didn’t know you were a walking tree man,” Rocket said defensively.

            “I am Groot,” the tree said.

            “Yeah, I think I got that the first time,” Rocket replied.

            “I am Groot.”

            “Ah geez, it’s one of these guys…” Rocket muttered. While he and his friends had been outfitted with universal translators, there were a few languages that even the High Evolutionary didn’t know. Apparently whatever language this “Groot” spoke was one of those few. “Look, can ya set me down already? The blood is rushing to my head, and I already said I was sorry.”

            “I… am Groot,” Groot nodded, putting Rocket back down on the ground gently.

            Rocket took a moment to catch his breath before turning back to Groot, crossing his arms. “Well, Groot, looks like we’re cellmates until I figure out a way of busting me and my friends out of here.” The jerked a thumb to the cell across the hall. “I’m Rocket, and those guys over there are my friends.”

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked, gesturing a finger at Rocket.

            Rocket rolled his eyes, before realizing that Groot was probably trying to ask him a question. “If you’re wondering what I am, I’m a raccoon, though one that was illegally experimented on by some nutjob called the High Evolutionary. Don’t know exactly what a raccoon is, but apparently, we’re good at using our hands, and this raccoon likes making tools and fixing up broken things.”

            “I am Groot. I am Groot. I am Groot,” Groot said. Rocket got the impression Groot was telling his own backstory from his gestures.

            “Sorry pal, but there’s still a language barrier between us,” Rocket shook his head. Groot looked a bit sad at the revelation.

            “Are you okay over there, Rocket?” Lylla called.

            “Yeah, just making a new friend,” Rocket replied.

            “Rocket make new friend?” Floor gasped. “Want to meet new friend!”

            “The guy’s name is Groot, and he’s a tree man of some kind,” Rocket said. Groot moved closer to the door so the others could see him.

            “I am Groot,” Groot waved.

            “Hello Groot! I am Floor because I am on the floor,” Floor replied.

            “Teefs, for my most distinguished feature,” Teefs waved.

            “Lylla. It’s nice to see a friendly face in a place like this,” Lylla said with a smile.

            “I, am Groot,” Groot replied.

            “Rocket, why friend say greets again?” Floor asked.

            “I dunno. Must be a language we don’t understand,” Rocket shrugged.

            “Rocket, do you think that Groot could help us escape from here?” Lylla asked.

            Rocket looked at Groot. “…Maybe, but there’s not much we can do in this cell. There’s nothing in here for me to work with, so we might just have to wait until that “big event” Grandmaster was talking about comes around.”

            “I am Groot!” Groot said, clearly panicked by Rocket’s words.

            “Eh? Not looking forward to having to fight, I’m guessing,” Rocket said. He closed his eyes and nodded. “Yeah, fighting against my will for some guy sitting in his high tower isn’t ideal either, but we aren’t going to escape from this cell with what I have now. I need to get some tools to bust out of here…”

            “I am Groot,” Groot nodded, giving his understanding of Rocket’s plans.

            “Great. I’m going to take that as us being on the same page,” Rocket smiled. He looked to his friends. “Well then, I suppose we should figure out what we’ve got going for us in the arena…”

            “Our Counter Earth quartet had gained a new ally, but there was still the matter of escaping from the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions. Only a combination of their wits and skills would lead them to a favorable outcome…”

            “Alright you mangy creatures, up and at’em!” Topaz droned as she and other Grandmaster guards came in to collect Batch 89 and Groot. The gang were all dragged to what seemed to be a waiting room, with rows of weapons lined up on the walls. “You’ve got five minutes to pick your weapons before the contest begins. Good luck.”

            Rocket moved to escape, but another laser gate came up, blocking him from going anywhere. “Guess we’re gonna have to fight before we can do anything…” the raccoon muttered. He went over to the wall of weapons, inspecting their options. “Well, I don’t suppose you guys have any preferences? I’m the only one that’s actually used a firearm…” He picked up a pair of smaller blasters for himself, setting them aside.

            Teefs stroked his whiskers before picking up a cannon-like weapon, using his mechanical collar to attach the weapon to his back. “I think this will suit me well,” he nodded.

            “I’ll take a blaster as well,” Lylla said, catching a thin silver gun from Rocket. The otter then hummed, before grabbing a staff and some rope, tying a makeshift holster around her waist for her weapons. “There, that should do it.”

            “Floor want gun too!” Floor cheered.

            “Nah-ah-ah, you’re not getting one,” Rocket held his blaster up where Floor couldn’t get it. “I know you want to help, Floor, but your limbs, robotic or otherwise, can’t hold a blaster properly. We’ll have to work on your cybernetics before I even think about teaching you how to use one.”

            “Oh… Okay! Floor just be distraction then!” the rabbit said with a smile.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said, flexing his limbs to make thorns appear along his body.

            “Yeah, that’ll work. Here, see if you can hold some of these as well,” Rocket nodded, passing some small explosives over to Groot. The tree-man opened up his chest to safely store the explosives inside. “Gross, but effective.”

            The door leading to the arena opened up, and the gang gave each other nervous looks before stepping out into the blinding lights. A sizable crowd was gathered to watch the event, cheering as the champions all arrived in the arena. Rocket took note that all sides of the arena had a champion or two stepping out of it, each one looking more deadly than the last. ‘What is the event all about anyways…?’ he thought.

            “Welcome everyone, to the Contest of Champions!” Grandmaster announced from his personal viewing tower. “We have a special event for you here today, one of my favorite kinds of contests: Survival of the Fittest!”

            “Oh flark, not one of these…” one of the champions groaned, a bald humanoid with orange skin. The crowd cheered at Grandmaster’s announcement.

            “Yes, yes, very exciting and all that. I even got this special monster imported from some backwater planet called…” Grandmaster backed up from his microphone and whispered to Topaz, “What planet was it?”

            “E-arth, sir,” Topaz responded.

            “Ah, yes, from E-arth! Just scooped it right up. Found it running around in some snowy wasteland!” Grandmaster said. “Shame we couldn’t get that stabby claw guy, but you can’t complain about what you can’t catch…”

            “Rocket, is he talking about Earth?” Lylla asked.

            Rocket nodded. “Sounds like it. Whatever monster we’ve gotta fight, it’s from the world the High Evolutionary took us from…”

            A box rose up in the middle of the arena, shaking and shuttering as whatever was held inside. “Get ready, champions, for our main event! And just so you know, the top performing champion today gets to have their freedom, no strings attached! If you survive, that is…”

            The box shook even more, dents becoming visible as whatever was inside started to break free from its confines. The champions all readied their weapons, Rocket nervously holding up his blasters towards the box. After a moment the walls of the box burst open, revealing aneight-foot-tall monster covered head-to-toe in white fur, with lashing tails, vicious claws, and snarling fangs. “WENDIGO!” the monster screamed, before running towards the nearest champion, tearing them in half in the blink of an eye.

            “Oh flark!” Rocket cursed, instinct taking over as he moved in front of Lylla to protect her. The raccoon and his allies quickly moved away from the Wendigo, before having to dodge backwards as one of the champions, a strange warrior wearing medieval armor with a broadsword, swung his weapon down on them. “Hey idiot, we’re on the same side here!”

            “It’s every Champion for themselves and getting rid of small fry like you just clears out the competition faster,” the warrior said.

            “That’s not very nice!” Floor exclaimed.

            “Indeed it isn’t,” Teefs nodded. The warrior swung his sword again, only for Teefs’ mechanical arm to reach out and catch the blade with ease. The walrus tossed the weapon aside, before barreling over the warrior, leaving them laid out flat on their back.

            “Hey! Get back here!” the warrior shouted as the group moved away from him. “I can’t get back up in this armor!”

            “Then you shouldn’t have fallen on the floor!” Floor giggled.

            All around the arena, champions were either battling it out with each other or trying (and failing) to kill the Wendigo. Off to one side of the arena, a rock-man was flattening himself up against the wall, a weird punk bug thing cradled in his arms. Seeing as he wasn’t fighting anyone else, Rocket decided that guy looked to be a good ally to have.

            “Hey, you!” the raccoon shouted.

            “Oh, hello there!” the rock-man waved pleasantly. I’m Korg. This guy here is Meik. Just trying our best not to die here.”

            “Same here,” Lylla said. “Would you be interested in forming an alliance with us, Korg?”

            “Well, I would, but you see I have to take care of Meik here. Can’t really fight without his legs and all,” Korg said. He then looked over to see Groot and waved. “Oh, hello Groot!”

            “I am Groot,” Groot waved back.

            “Yes, I see you do have a lot of new friends. Good for you,” Korg nodded.

            “Korg understand Groot?” Floor asked in surprise.

            “Oh sure. Once you get to know him, it comes naturally,” Korg said. “Are you still on for the uprising next week, Groot?”

            “I am Groot.” Groot raised an eyebrow.

            “No, I still have to get the fliers,” Korg replied.

            “Look, this is all fine, but we really need to either get out of here or kill that Wendi-whatever!” Rocket said impatiently.

            “Wow, angry little fella, isn’t he?” Korg said.

            “Rocket is actually very nice if you get to know him,” Lylla said, crossing her arms.

            “Well, if you want to win, then your best bet is to team up with Bill,” Korg said.

            “Bill? What kinda stupid name is Bill?” Rocket questioned. Korg pointed out to the middle of the arena, where a mighty warrior was showing his strength. He was a tall humanoid with golden brown skin and a horse skull-like head, with bulging muscles and a mighty battle axe in hand. If this were a movie, you’d see a dramatic slow-motion shot as he effortlessly cleaved a red-skinned alien in half. “Oh, I like Bill.”

            “Should we be concerned that he might slice us in half?” Teefs asked with worry.

            “I am Groot,” Groot shrugged.

            “Yeah, you guys look small and helpless enough for him to take pity on you,” Korg nodded.

            “Gee, thanks,” Rocket muttered. The raccoon climbed up Groot, resting on the tree’s shoulder to get a better vantage. “You okay with me sitting her, Groot?”

            “I am Groot,” the tree nodded.

            “Good. Now then, let’s go team up with Bill and take down that monster,” Rocket said. Groot let out a battle cry as they ran back out into the arena, Groot holding out his arm as he hardened up the bark there, turning it into a battering ram shield. Rocket used the cover to blast any champions that got too close for comfort, with Lylla, Floor, and Teefs following closely behind.

            When a warrior with too many knives started screaming and charging at them, Lylla gasped and held up her blaster. Having no experience with the weapon, the otter was blow back by a single shot, completely missing the shot and only glancing one of the warrior’s knives. This did give Floor the chance to jump in and defend her friend, though, the rabbit using her spider limbs to clamber around the warrior and start disarming her with carefully placed strikes. Soon the warrior had dropped all of her knives, with Teefs slamming his tail on her head to knock her out.

            “Floor, what was that?” Lylla asked in shock.

            “Floor saw Lylla in trouble, so Floor helped!” Floor explained. She smiled and picked up one of the knives about twice her size, holding the handle in her mouth. “Floor have knife now!”

            “Yes, you do…” Lylla said warily. “Floor, I just saw you hit that person’s pressure points in such a way that they couldn’t move their body. How did you know to do that?”

            Floor shrugged. “Don’t know, just knew it would work. Make screaming lady stop screaming.”

            ‘Hm… I wonder of that has to do with the High Evolutionary’s programming…’ Lylla thought. She shelved those thoughts for later as another warrior ran at them, but they were soon stopped by the Wendigo grabbing them by the head and twisting it off like a bottle cap.

            “My word… I think I’ll be sick,” Teefs said in disgust.

            “Stay calm, big guy. That’s our target,” Rocket said, turning around to see the beast now looking at them. The Wendigo snarled… before running off and going after a different warrior. “Huh, it didn’t attack us?”

            “Perhaps it recognizes us as also being from Earth,” Lylla guessed.

            “Is that so?” said a strong voice. The group turned to see Bill standing there, his body half covered in various types of blood from the other champions that had tried to fell him. “Then perhaps you’d be willing to work with me to defeat that monster, rodent?”

            “I’m a raccoon,” Rocket corrected. “The name’s Rocket, that’s Lylla, Floor, Teefs, and this guy here is Groot.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot greeted, the others giving their own waves.

            “What a motley crew you have, warrior Rocket,” Bill nodded. “I will ally myself with you for the time being. Now then, to defeat this Wendigo!” Bill let out a warrior’s cry as he charged the Wendigo, the monster looking up from the dead corpse of a fallen champion before roaring and meeting Bill in a clash. The two locked hands as they pushed against each other, equal in strength as neither gave up ground. Bill grit his teeth and ducked down, letting the Wendigo leer over him before striking at the beast with his axe.

            “Yes! Go Bill!” Floor cheered.

            “We’re going to need to help him out too,” Rocket said. “Lylla, see if you can find a weak point on that thing! Teefs, Groot, distract the Wendigo and help out Bill.”

            “And what about you?” Teefs asked.

            Rocket reached into Groot and pulled out a few spare weapons, quickly starting to take them apart. “I’m gonna make us something that’ll totally blow that monster sky-high. Floor, over for me!”
            “On it, Rocket!” Floor nodded, the gang breaking up to do their tasks.

            Teefs slid behind the Wendigo as it brawled with Bill, the walrus leaning forward to fire off the cannon he had strapped to his back earlier. The weapon sent out a burning ball of fire that exploded into colorful sparks on the Wendigo’s back, the monster howling in pain as its fur was singed off.

            “Oh, someone picked the fireworks cannon. My favorite,” Grandmaster mused.

            The Wendigo turned around and grabbed at Teefs, only for Groot to stretch out his arm and tangle up the monster’s arm with vines. Wendigo snarled and used its free hand to cut into Groot, the tree-man crying out in pain as his arm was cleaved in two!

            “Groot!” Lylla gasped, racing over to his side.

            “I… am Groot,” Groot winced, looking at his lost arm. Lylla watched as his stump slowly started regrowing.

            “Oh good, you’ll be all right,” the otter sighed in relief. She turned around to see Bill and Teefs keeping the Wendigo busy with fireworks and axe swings. Lylla also turned to see Rocket taking parts from discarded weapons and sticking them together, while Floor fended off any remaining champions with her nerve strikes and newly acquired knife.

            “Accursed monster, die!” Bill shouted, landing a clean strike on the Wendigo’s chest. The wound burst open, only to quickly heal back up as it roared in defiance. “The Grandmaster has given us an unkillable monster, has he? Well no matter, as nothing it unkillable!”

            “Almost… got it… here!” Rocket said, holding up his new weapon. It was a hastily put together amalgamation of guns almost double Rocket’s size, but the raccoon managed to somehow hold the weapon with little effort.

            “Oh, big shooty thing! What it do?” Floor asked as she paralyzed the last of the champions attacking them.

            “This is going to be our ticket to victory,” Rocket grinned. “Lylla, did you find a weak spot yet?”

            “It’s skin heals from all damage quickly, but I don’t think its insides are quite as durable, especially to fire,” Lylla replied.

            “Then I just got one shot…” Rocket muttered. He held up his blaster and aimed, taking one of the grenades he had acquired and loading it into the weapon. “Everyone, keep that thing still so I can freaking shoot its mouth!”

            Groot nodded, using his one hand to stab into the ground, sending out roots that wrapped around the Wendigo’s feet. The monster roared at being restrained, but Bill quickly shut it up with a hammer uppercut to the jaw. The warrior then stepped out of the way as Rocket fired off his weapon, launching the grenade right into the Wendigo’s mouth! Bill grabbed the monster’s head, forcing its mouth shut before the explosive went off, turning the Wendigo’s head into mush as its body fell over.

            “Disgusting…” Bill said, shaking off the Wendigo guts from his body. The crowd soon started cheering, with Bill holding up his hammer in victory as Batch 89 and Groot held up an arm too.

            “Well, I can’t say that’s how I expected that to end, but here we are,” Grandmaster said. “But we have ourselves a winner! And like I said, the top performing champion of this battle gets their freedom, so… Bill, congratulations! You’re free from the games!”

            “What!?!” Rocket shouted, stomping his foot. “News flash, Grandmaster! I was the one that dealt the final blow there, so the win should go to me!”

            “I mean, you did that, yes, but Bill was clearly the one everyone was rooting for,” Grandmaster said. “You and your tiny little friends can always try again next time. Now then, guards! Return the survivors to their cells.”

            Sakarrian guards quickly came into the arena, with Batch 89 looking nervous as Rocket looked around for some way out of this. ‘Flark, there’s too many guys here to take…’ he thought.

            Luckily for the animals, hope would come in the form of one of their allies. “Grandmaster!” Bill suddenly shouted, holding up his hands. “I would like to trade my prize for the freedom of Rocket and his friends.”

            “He can’t do that, sir,” Topaz said, only for Grandmaster to hold up a hand to her face.

            “Ah, ah, ah, let me think…” he mutters. “Tell me, Bill, why should I trade four of my newest champions for one? That doesn’t seem very fair.”

            “These four have proven themselves, but they are also quite small. Like animals my people would hunt on my home world,” Bill said. “The four of them would surely equate to one of me. In return, you will continue to have my service in your Contest of Champions.”

            “You are one of my most popular champions…” Grandmaster mused. “Okay then, you have a deal, Bill. Guards, put down the pointy sticks and bring the funny talking animals up to my lounge. If they’re getting their freedom, might as well treat them right, yeah?”

            “What about Groot?” Floor asked.

            “No, the tree stays with me,” Grandmaster said.

            Groot looked at his new friends, before giving a small smile. “I am Groot.”

            “You have a plan…? Wait, did I just understand you!?!” Rocket said in shock.

            “I am Groot!” Groot smiled wider, before one of the guards started poking him with their spear.

            “Get moving, tree man,” the guard droned, escorting Groot back to the cells while Bill was taken to his own, leaving Rocket and company to be taken up to the Grandmaster’s lounge.

            “You guys heard that, right? Groot actually said words!” Rocket said excitedly.

            “It still sounded like “I am Groot” to me…” Teefs shook his head. “But I do feel like I understood the meaning behind what he was saying, if that makes sense.”

            “If we meet Groot or his species again, maybe we can investigate that,” Lylla suggested. “For now, we should appreciate our freedom and get back to our ship.”

            “And find a way to get Groot outta here…” Rocket said quietly, Lylla giving him a nod. The tree-man was a friend of theirs now, and if Batch 89 believed in one thing, it’s that it was good to have friends. And friends don’t leave each other behind.

Chapter Text

“Having survived the Contest of Champions with the help of the honorable warrior Bill, Batch 89 were given back their freedom and found themselves personally invited to stay in the Grandmaster’s palace. While they had the time to take advantage of the elder being’s hospitality, our furry quartet kept their eyes towards the stars and the day they’d get back to exploring the vast galaxy…”

            “You want us to what now?” Rocket raised an eyebrow at the request. It was the following morning after the Contest of Champions, and Batch 89 had woken up to find Scrapper 142 at their door alongside other servants of the Grandmaster, each of them holding fabrics of some kind.

            “Grandmaster wants you all to look presentable while you’re in his presence,” Scrapper 142 explained. “Doesn’t explain why he’s having me do this, though…”

            “Presentable? What’s the matter with how we are now?” Teefs questioned.

            “While you all did well in the arena, it wasn’t hard to see that all four of you lack appropriate attire,” one of the servants said.

            “So you’re here to make us clothes?” Lylla translated.

            “Oh, funny cloth that others wear! Floor want to try clothes!” Floor said excitedly.

            “I guess if we’re Grandmaster’s guests, we can humor him here,” Rocket shrugged. “Besides, if we’re gonna be exploring the galaxy after all this, might as well try to blend in with everyone else.”

            “Good. Let’s get this over with,” Scrapper 142 said. The servants all entered the room and started taking measurements of Batch 89, as well was asking various questions about what the four would like the most to wear.

            “I’ve never put much thought into clothes, if I’m being honest,” Lylla said with a hum. “But I guess something that’s like water, all flowy, if that makes sense.”

            “Perhaps a dress, or a robe?” one of the dressmakers muttered.

            “This one we can’t do much with,” the dressmaker working with Teefs said. “But a vest of some kind should work…”

            “Floor want to be flowy like Lylla!” Floor stated.

            Her dressmaker gave the rabbit an odd look. “Are you sure? That style of clothing is more for females. And your proportions… well, it’s hard to tell by your body type, but I’m sure that-”

            “You saying Floor ain’t female?” Rocket said, crossing his arms. “Because she definitely is.”

            “I didn’t mean to offend,” the dressmaker said quickly. “It’s just that, due to the unique way her body has been modified, I just assumed…”

            “Sire’s experiments were… unkind to Floor, especially to her cognitive functions. So when we asked if Floor was a male or female, she chose to use female pronouns for identification,” Lylla stated.

            “Either way, Floor is Floor, so if she wants flowy clothes, she can have flowy clothes,” Rocket said.          

            “Yes! Want pretty robes like Lylla!” Floor nodded.

            It was a sore subject that Rocket and the others would have to face going forward whenever people looked at Floor. While her voice and demeanor were feminine, her physical body had been mutilated by the High Evolutionary in such a way that any distinguishing characteristics of sex, male or female, had been completely removed from Floor’s body. Even her scent was unidentifiable as either, which led to a confusion of gender by many alien species. But Floor was most happy when identifying as a girl, so that was what her friends chose to call her by.

            “Now then, Mr. Rocket, which color would you prefer?” his dressmaker asked, holding up various colors.

            Rocket’s eyes flickered between the choices presented before him, before stopping on a bright green color. It reminded him of the grass and trees that he’d seen on their journey across various planets. While the forever sky was their calling, there was something about climbing a tree and hiding in the leaves that just felt right to Rocket (it might have been part of his raccoon instincts, but he wasn’t sure). “That one,” he said, pointing to the green.

            “Rocket, which color should I go with for the sash?” Lylla asked. She was currently thumbing through various ribbons, letting them slide around her waist as she experimented with color. Rocket felt some heat rising to his face as he watched the otter glide through the ribbons. “I’m thinking something softer in tone, to contrast with the blue I already picked out for the robes…”

            Lylla stopped on a pink ribbon, letting it twist around her waist as Rocket looked on in awe. Something in his brain clicked in that moment, but he couldn’t really say what it was. The High Evolutionary had taught the raccoon many different things, but whatever this feeling was wasn’t one of them. Rocket had never considered something like what his favorite color was, but seeing Lylla wrapped in pink ribbon… “That one!” he blurted out, before giving a cough and calming himself. “I-I think you should go with the pink. It’s my favorite.”

            “Then pink it is,” Lylla giggled, covering her mouth as Rocket’s face lit up to match the ribbon’s color.

            After a few hours, Batch 89 had their new attire, and Rocket had to admit that it made them all look great. The raccoon himself was wearing a green leotard with a large black belt around his waist and a pair of gloves that were a lighter shade of green. Lylla was wearing deep blue robes with a pink sash tied around her waist held by a golden brooch. Floor’s attire was similar to Lylla’s by lavender in color with a baby blue sash, the robes fitted to match her more quadrupedal stance. Teefs on the other hand had a simple dull orange vest that fitted around his upper body, a yellow undershirt peeking out beneath it.

            With their adventure into the fashion world complete, the quartet were free to enjoy the amenities of the Grandmaster’s palace, indulging in food, drinks, and music. Rocket especially loved that last one, his tail swaying to the beat as he danced like no one was watching. Learning that there was more to music than just listening to it, that you could move to the music in way to express your feelings… it was freeing to the raccoon.

            “Is this like what Sire showed you, Rocket?” Teefs asked.

            “This is way better than what he showed me, Teefs,” Rocket laughed.

            “Fun! Music is fun!” Floor cheered, hopping around the dance floor.

            “Indeed it is,” Lylla said. Her tail swayed to the music, the otter feeling the sensation of her robes flowing as she moved about. Lylla smiled as she looked around, watching as other aliens danced to the Grandmaster’s beats, some of them dancing together. “Rocket, can we do that?”

            “Do what?” the raccoon asked.

            “Dance like those people,” Lylla said, pointing to a couple dancing together.

            “…We can try,” Rocket shrugged. He took Lylla’s metal paw in his own flesh one, feeling the warmth of the circuitry he’d been responsible for making. The two didn’t know exactly what to do at first, just standing there and awkwardly spinning around each other, but the music became their guide as they glided across the dance floor together.

            “Floor want to dance with Rocket and Lylla!” Floor said, only to Teefs to hold her back.

            “Let them have this,” Teefs said. Floor tilted her head in confusion up at her large friend. “I think… they want this moment to themselves.”

            Rocket only planned for his friends to stay on Sakaar for two weeks at the most. The raccoon wanted to get back to flying in the forever sky, so he requested to have his ship brought up to one of the hangers so he could finish working on it. While Rocket was doing that, Lylla was looking through the Batch 89 file, seeing if she could find any more information on what each of them was created for. Rocket had a genius-level intellect, and Lylla was programmed with medical knowledge; surely, Teefs and Floor had special skills as well.

            “Maybe we should come up with a name for our ship…” Rocket suggested. “I mean, all these other pilots here named their ships. Yeah, and then I can get it painted on the side. You guys got any suggestions for names?”

            “Ship, because it’s a ship!” Floor exclaimed.

            “Lucy… I don’t know why, but I like that name,” Teefs said.

            “I’m not sure…” Lylla hummed.

            “Eh, we can decide later,” Rocket shrugged. “You found anything useful in the files, Lylla?”

            “Somewhat,” Lylla replied. “It looks like Sire’s work on Teefs was similar to what he did with you, Rocket, but the process didn’t give the results he was looking for. As for Floor, her modifications are… unclear. I see notes in here about things like “comfort” and “manipulation” but neither of those connect in a way that makes sense to me.”

            “Rocket, can I borrow some of your scraps you aren’t using?” Teefs asked suddenly.

            “Uh, sure. Whatever you want, Teefs,” Rocket said. “Whatcha gonna do with them?”

            “I feel inspired to build, like you do,” Teefs replied, scooping up some scraps and putting them on the table. His mechanical arms got to work, grabbing tools to manipulate the metal into a new shape. After an hour of work, the walrus proudly presented a crudely made miniature sculpture that took the shape of some sort of animal. “I present: a Rocket.”

            Rocket quirked an eyebrow and picked up the metallic creation. If he squinted at it, the sculpture did look kinda like himself. “Is it… me?” he asked.

            “Yes,” Teefs smiled.

            “See, he has an inquisitive mind, it’s just different from your own,” Lylla said.

            Rocket looked at the sculpture again before setting it down. “You know Teefs, if you want I could teach you how I fix the ship. Could be useful to have someone else that can work on this thing.”

            “I’d love to help, Rocket,” Teefs replied.

            ‘A bit crude, yes, but Teefs does seem to have a mind for building… Perhaps Sire put that in there because Teefs’ body lets him carry heavy objects,’ Lylla thought as she looked at the Rocket sculpture Teefs had made. ‘Now, as for what Floor is good at, I’ll have to figure that out later.’

            “Is ship ready yet?” Floor asked.

            “Eh, I’d say give it until tomorrow, and then we’ll be back out into the stars,” Rocket said. “I’m getting tired of looking at all the endless piles of trash. I say we go to a planet with lots of trees, or maybe find somewhere with snow…”

            “What’s snow?” Teefs asked, handing Rocket a wrench.

            “The High Evolutionary said it’s white stuff that falls from the sky and feels cold when you touch it,” the raccoon explained.

            “Oh, I saw funny men with Grandmaster with white stuff!” Floor said. “They act silly and say funny words!”

            “I don’t think that’s what snow is, Floor,” Lylla said. “Hm… What about Groot, though? We did promise to find a way to get him his freedom.”

            “That’s why I got this off of that Topaz lady,” Rocket said with a smirk, pulling out a key fob device from his pocket. “I memorized the cell Groot and I were being held in, and this key is the one to our cell. All we gotta do is sneak in tonight and bust him out of there.”

            “Isn’t that illegal?” Teefs questioned.

            “We got forced to participate in a death arena against our will and only got out because someone else traded their freedom for ours,” Rocket said. “When we were locked up with Groot, I really connected with the guy, even if I didn’t understand what he was saying half the time. I’m not just gonna let him rot in a cell until the day he dies. That’s what was gonna happen to us, and I don’t want anyone to experience that feeling. Only bad people should be locked up, and Groot isn’t a bad person.”

            “Yes. Groot is friend. I help Rocket free Groot,” Floor offered.

            “With the way you were handing those guys in the arena, you’re probably best for the job, Floor,” Rocket nodded. “Teefs, Lylla, it’ll be up to you to have the ship ready for when we break Groot out. Think you can do that.”

            “The Rakk ‘n’ Ruin will be ready, Rocket,” Teefs said, giving a salute.

            “Rakk ‘n’ Ruin, huh? Did you just come up with that? I like the sound of it,” Rocket said.

            “It does have a nice ring to it,” Lylla nodded. “Still, both of you need to be careful. It can’t be that easy to break someone out of the Grandmaster’s Arena.”

[***]

            “Huh, it’s that easy,” Lylla said dumbly, looking out the back of the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin as they made a speedy getaway from Sakaar before anyone noticed them.

            “To be fair, Korg starting up his revolution attempt gave us plenty of cover to slip past,” Rocket pointed out.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “Oh yeah, you lifting up that Topaz chick by her nostril was hilarious!” Rocket laughed.

            “Do I want to know?” Lylla shuttered.

            “Some things Floor has seen tonight cannot be unseen by Floor!” Floor said in her usual happy tone.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said with concern.

            “We worry about her too, Groot,” Rocket nodded, giving the ship a quick turn to dodge some laser fire before they finally reached the jump gate. “So, no that we have all that out of the way, where do you guys want to go. I may or may not have picked up some units on the way out from the guards, so we have some cash now for the more fancy planets.”

            “Snow world! Floor want to see snow!” Floor chanted.

            “I think a beachside would be nice,” Teefs mused.

            “I am Groot,” Groot added.

            “I liked the idea of going to a forest planet,” Lylla said.

            “Okay, that’s a lot of ideas,” Rocket said. He turned on the ship’s navigation and started looking at nearby planets after their jump was over. “Well, will you look at that. There’s a planet coming up with beaches, snow, and forests. Sounds like paradise, don’t you think?”

            “Let’s go/I am Groot!” the crew cheered, Rocket smiling as they soared through the stars once again. Their time on Sakaar had been eventful, but it was time to get back to adventuring with his friends out in the stars once more.           

Chapter Text

            “Batch 89 are a close-knit group, always helping each other and learning more about themselves as they traveled from planet to planet. With the flora colossus Groot on their side as a new friend, they had many more adventures to go on, but also made sure to find time to relax. And when those times of peace came was when they would find out one of the most important things in life: the concept of love…”

            Lylla flexed her fingers as Rocket finished the latest adjustments for her robotic arms, watching in fascination as nanofiber unfurled between each finger as she opened and closed her hand. “There you go. Now you should be able to swim like the rest of your species does,” Rocket said. “Not bad for half a day’s worth of work, is it?”

            “It’s wonderful, Rocket,” Lylla replied with a smile. “Now, come on! Teefs and Floor are waiting for us out on the beach.” She grabbed Rocket by the hand and practically dragged him out of the ship, stepping out onto the soft sand of where they’d landed the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin on their latest destination.

            It was a planet untouched by civilization, mostly covered by ocean with a few islands popping up out of the sea here and there. Rocket had chosen this planet due to its remoteness, was well as the islands all having variant climates that would allow them to experience both the beach and snow without going anywhere else. Groot also apricated the stop, giving the tree man a place to soak up some solar rays and renew his energy, as his time on Sakaar had led to his body slowly weakening due to a lack of sunlight.

            “Lylla, slow down!” Rocket laughed as she pulled him towards the sea. The raccoon dug his feet into the sand just as they got to the water’s edge. “We can’t just jump in the water now. We’ll ruin our clothes.”

            “Hm, true,” Lylla nodded. The otter let go of Rocket’s hand and proceeded to strip down to her fur, neatly folding her cloak and putting it off to the side. “You coming in too, Rocket?”

            “R-right…” Rocket stuttered, his eyes drawn to Lylla. There was that feeling in his chest again, the one that made his heart beat faster and his face flush with warmth. He couldn’t say why he was feeling this way; after all, Batch 89 had lived for most of their lives up to this point without wearing any clothes. But watching Lylla just now remove her cloak…

            “Rocket?” Lylla said, concern in her voice as he continued to stare at her.

            “Uh, right!” Rocket shook his head, quickly removing his own clothes before following Lylla into the water. He was doing it again, getting lost in his own head whenever Lylla came to mind. For as smart as he was, whatever was going on with Rocket was lost on himself. For now, he just wanted to focus on being in the now with his friends.

            “Rocket and Lylla! Rocket and Lylla!” Floor called, the rabbit splashing around in the water alongside Teefs. “Over here!”

            “We’re coming, Floor!” Lylla replied, diving into the water and taking to it like she was always born to do. The otter flowed through the water with grace, and though she’d never swam before in her life, her natural instincts and knowledge of the concept of swimming was enough for Lylla to quickly get the hang of it.

            Rocket, on the other hand, was a lot more cautious of being in the water, the liquid cold on his skin as he slowly waded out into the depths. He made sure that there was always solid ground underneath his feet. The raccoon soon gave a gasp as he was picked up and put on the back of Teefs, the walrus chuckling to himself as he carried Rocket around.

            “Not liking the water, Rocket?” Teefs asked.

            “N-Not especially…” Rocket sighed, his face burning with embarrassment. “It’s not that I don’t not like the water, but being in it… I’m having second thoughts now.”

            “I can teach you to swim if you want,” Teefs offered. “It’s much more freeing than being stuck in the chair Sire made for me.”

            “Glad you enjoy it, buddy,” Rocket said, patting Teefs on the head.

            The four friends spent their afternoon on the beach, laughing and splashing about in the water. Teefs and Lylla even taught Rocket how to swim, and while the raccoon still didn’t enjoy the activity as much as his semi-aquatic friends, he figured that knowing how to swim would be a useful skill. As the sky darkened and night settled in, Rocket and Floor gathered up some wood from the nearby forest to light a fire on the beach for the gang to huddle around, eating dinner and looking up at the stars.

            “So many lights…” Floor said in awe. “Each light new world, yes?”

            “Well, each of those is a star, actually, and even then it’s only the light from those stars reaching our eyeballs,” Rocket explained. “Some of them might have moved, or turned into black holes-”

            “What’s a black hole?” Floor asked.

            “It’s like a big, swirling hole that sucks in everything, even light,” Rocket replied. “No one knows if there’s anything on the other side since everyone that’s gone inside has never come back.”

            “Friend Rocket be first to find out!” Floor exclaimed.

            Rocket scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, let’s put that idea on the “maybe I’ll do this” list…” Lylla gave a laugh, making Rocket look at her funny. “Hey, what are you laughing about?”

            “I just enjoy watching you explain things.” Lylla said. “Your eyes light up whenever you start talking about space or building things… It’s quite adorable.”

            ‘Adorable… She thinks I’m adorable…’ Rocket thought, his face lighting up with heat and he gave a nervous laugh. “W-Well, I just… like hearing the sound of my own voice, I guess…”

            “I am Groot,” Groot laughed.

            “You would think this is funny, wouldn’t you…” Rocket muttered, silently thankful that he was still the only one that fully understood Groot.

            “The stars really are beautiful at night,” Teefs said, laying on his back and staring up at the sky. “I do miss having the music Grandmaster had every night, though. We could dance under the stars then…”

            “Teefs don’t need music to dance!” Floor giggled.

            “But having music does make dancing more fun,” Lylla chimed in.

            Rocket suddenly gasped and sat up. “Wait just a minute! I’ll be right back!” Running to their ship, the raccoon soon returned with a box-like device with an antenna sticking out of the top, setting it down near the fire for the others to see. “I found this on Sakaar when I was searching for parts to fix the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin. It can pick up radio waves, which means that if I tune this thing right…” Rocket flipped a switch, causing static to come out that made the others block their ears in discomfort. Turning some nobs on the device, Rocket managed to replace the static with a techno beat.

            “Ah, much better…” Teefs sighed in relief.

            “Rocket have magic music box!” Floor cheered.

            “It’s a radio transceiver, meaning it picks up radio waves from across the galaxy,” Rocket explained. “It took a while to get it to tune into anywhere in the galaxy, but with this, we can get music whenever from wherever.”

            “Where is this music coming from?” Lylla asked.

            “Uh… According to the coordinates, some planet the Nova Corps call Terra,” Rocket said, reading off the screen on the device.

            “I like it,” Teefs said, rolling onto his belly and nodding along to the music.

            “Yes! Music is the best!” Floor giggled.

            Lylla smiled and nodded to the beat as well, before Rocket held out a hand to her. “Want to dance with me, Lylla?” he asked.

            Lylla took his hand and stood up, the two swaying to the song as they started to dance.

Like the legend of the phoenix, huh

All ends with beginnings

            “Floor want to dance too!” Floor cheered, only to Teefs to put a flipper on her back (which with her small size basically covered her entire body).

            “You can dance, Floor, but let Rocket and Lylla have this moment,” Teefs said.

What keeps the planet spinning, ah

The force from the beginning, hm, look

            Lylla smiled as she stared into Rocket’s eyes, the fire reflecting in them as his face started to pull into a grin.

We've come too far

To give up who we are…

            Rocket decided to be a bit fancy and gave Lylla a spin, the otter laughing as she twirled around, losing her footing. Seeing this, Rocket quickly moved to grab her, his hands going to Lylla’s waist to hold her steady.

So let's raise the bar

And our cups to the stars…!

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “Love? What the heck is love?” Rocket asked.

            “I am Groot,” Groot replied, making a heart shape with his hands.

            “He says that love is what happens whenever two beings feel strong emotions between each other,” Lylla said.

            “Wait, you can understand Groot!?!” Rocket gasped.

            “I’ve been picking up on his words here and there,” Lylla said.

She's up all night 'til the sun

I'm up all night to get some

She's up all night for good fun

I'm up all night to get lucky

            “Love, huh…?” Rocket said. He started at Lylla, watching the fire’s light glisten of her fur. ‘High Evolutionary never taught me what love was… but whenever I look I Lylla, I feel like I wanna spend the rest of my life with her. I feel the same with Floor and Teefs and even Groot, but Lylla… I feel it even more…’

We're up all night 'til the sun

We're up all night to get some

We're up all night for good fun

We're up all night to get lucky

            “Rocket?” Lylla whispered his name.

            “…I love Lylla…” Rocket said. His face broke out into a manic grin as he picked up Lylla and twirled her around. “I love Lylla!” He hooted and hollered they spun in the sand, the raccoon not having a care in the world as he stared up into the sky. “I LOVE LYLLA!”

We're up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to get lucky

            “I love you to, Rocket,” Lylla laughed, holding herself steady as they spun around.

            “Floor love Rocket and Lylla and Teefs and Groot!” Floor chimed in.

            “I love you all as well,” Teefs added.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

We're up all night to get lucky

We're up all night to get lucky

            With his declaration to the heavens, Rocket continued to dance with his love well into the night, their friends dancing as well until the embers of the fire finally went out. Moving back to the ship to sleep, Rocket sighed as he climbed into his small quarters on the ship, only to be surprised when Lylla knocked on the floor to get his attention.

            “Groot said that lovers tend to sleep together,” Lylla explained herself. “I was wondering if you’d like to sleep together.”

            “Uh… sure,” Rocket said. Lylla crawled onto the scrounged-up mattress and curled up next to Rocket. The otter tucked her head underneath his chin, with Rocket giving a small smile as he let his arms wrap around her body. He felt the warmth in his chest again, but it had become more controlled ever since he declared his love for Lylla. It was like… putting the feeling into words made him feel better.

            ‘Love… I like love…’ Rocket thought idly as he drifted off to sleep.

            If you were to look at Batch 89 from the outside looking in, it was easy to say that Floor was the odd one out of the quartet. Despite Rocket being the youngest Floor was easily the most childish in terms of mannerisms and speech, but she didn’t let that hold her back from helping her friends when she was needed. Floor’s small size meant she could crawl into small places even Rocket couldn’t get to and with a bit of assistance could fix the small bugs in the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin. She’d also proven capable in combat during their stay on Sakaar, using her spider legs to incapacitate opponents but targeting their nerve points.

            “And there we go,” Rocket nodded, sitting back as he finished the latest adjustments to Floor’s augmentations. “Okay Floor, try moving your ears now.”

            Floor tilted her head from side to side, raising each ear individually. Rocket and Lylla had been studying the Batch’s schematics again and realized that the antenna High Evolutionary had put on Floor were to compensate for her lopped ears. With a bit of adjustment Rocket had figured out a way to rework the antenna into hoops that looped around the rim of Floor’s ears, giving her more control of her body once more.

            “Floor hear even better now!” Floor smiled, jumping onto Rocket and giving him a hug.

            “Glad you can,” Rocket laughed, patting his friend on the head.

            “Now we just need to figure out a way for Floor to be able to hold onto objects better,” Lylla said, her and Teefs watching Rocket’s work off to the side.

            “Indeed, though I would like to do so without some of Sire’s- I mean, the High Evolutionary’s methods,” Teefs said. He had started using the madman’s true name, as had Lylla. Only Floor continued to call the man that created them Sire.

            “Yes! Floor give friends big hug when she can use hands,” Floor nodded vigorously. Her ears suddenly twitched, moving around like satellite dishes before rushing outside the ship. The others followed close behind, watching as the rabbit hopped up onto Groot’s shoulders, her ears still moving around to find some unseen sound.

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked, yawning as bit as he awoke from his midday sunning session.

            “Floor hear sound from other side of island!” Floor said. “Floor want to explore!”

            “Now wait just a minute, Floor,” Rocket said. “We don’t know what made that sound. For all we know, it’s some wackjob that’s going to try and skin us, or worse, it’s a crony of the High Evolutionary.”

            “…Floor hear pain from sound too,” Floor said, still looking towards where her ears were pointing. She took off like a gun into the woods, leaving the rest behind on the beach.

            “Floor!” Lylla shouted. “Don’t run off on your own!”

            “Aw jeez, she’s gonna get herself killed,” Rocket groaned. He went back into the ship and grabbed his blaster, taking another one out for Lylla as well. “We’ve gotta go after her.”

            “Then let’s not waste any time,” Teefs nodded, turning on his wheels and shooting off with Rocket and Lylla on his back, Groot following not far behind. The friends followed behind Floor the best they could, listening for her footsteps and catching glimpses of her white fur in the foliage of the forest. The weather turned colder as the grass gave way to snow, only the tracks of Floor being left to follow as the gang kept up their pursuit.

            “I forget how fast she is…” Rocket said with worry.

            Lylla put her hand over his. “She’s going to be safe as soon as we find her.”

            “If she isn’t dead, I’ll kill her myself…” Rocket grumbled.

            The trail soon came to an end at a smoking crater, a damaged ship in the middle of it. Teefs rolled down into the crater carefully, pulling out a fire extinguishing foam from his belt to soothe the flames as Rocket inspected the site. The ship was star-shaped colored in yellows and blues, the cockpit damaged with the glass shattered up. Rocket climbed into the driver’s seat and fiddled with the computers, finding most of it useless save for a few corrupted files.

            “Looks like this is one of those Nova Corps ships,” Rocket said. The gang had run into Nova Corps a few times, and Rocket had little trust for their authority. He’d heard what happens to those that stand out too much in the Galaxy, and a bunch of illegally modified animals was sure to get their attention if they were caught.

            “Clearly it’s seen better days,” Teefs mused.

            “Well, this planet, while off the grid, is considered to be part of Kree space,” Rocket replied. “I bet whoever was flying this thing got a bit too close to one of their outposts or something and had to make a landing here.”

            “There’s no sign of the pilot…” Lylla said, her eyes trailing off out of the crater. “Look, there are more of Floor’s tracks over there!”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said with concern.

            “Yeah bud, I seem ‘em too,” Rocket said, hopping on the tree-man’s shoulder. There were bigger tracks next to Floor’s as well. “She would be naive enough to go after a big monster, wouldn’t she? I just hope it’s not another one of those Wendigos…”

            The group made haste to follow the trail, arriving at a cave in the mountain side where the tracks ended. Teefs took the lead, pulling out a flashlight to light their way while Rocket kept his gun ready for anything to jump out at them. As they got deeper in noises could be heard, one of them sounding distinctly like Floor.

            “Stop it…!” Floor’s voice echoed.

            “Floor!” Rocket shouted, hurrying forward with Lylla to rescue their friend. The raccoon whipped around a bend in the cave, pointing his blaster with conviction at whatever it was had kidnapped Floor. “Okay you flarking kidnapper, drop my friend or else you’ll taste my plasma bolts!”

            “Oh, hello Friend Rocket!” Floor greeted, hopping in front of Rocket’s vison.

            “F-Floor!” Rocket backed up a bit, lowering his gun as Lylla and the others caught up to her. “For Flark’s sake you can’t go running of like that, Floor! I thought someone had kidnapped ya!”

            “No sleeping like child. Floor big rabbit now!” Floor said obliviously. “Floor hear sounds of pain, and follow scaley lady into cave.”

            “Scaley lady?” Teefs questioned.

            Floor nodded. “Yep! Scaley lady like us! Wears funny suit and makes fire with her mouth. Floor find her in here.” Floor hopped deeper into the cave, the gang following behind cautiously to see this “scaley lady” their friend was talking about.

            As it turns out it was a Nova Corps member, and one that had seen better days at that. She was female by the looks of it, easily as large, if not larger than Groot with green scales, curled horns on her face, and a lashing tail with wings on her back. Her uniform was torn to shreds, likely from the crash, with a cracked helmet resting off to the side.

            “Oh, a big scaley lady,” Teefs said.

            “…What’s this… More natives of this planet?” the Nova said, her voice deep and distrusting. “So, this is how it ends… eaten alive by furry little animals and a Flora Colossus.” She made a hissing sound with her throat as she spit out a steam of flames, only for it to cut off as she started coughing.

            “See? Scaley lady hurt,” Floor said. She hopped forward towards the Nova.

            “Floor, wait-!” Rocket whispered angerly.

            “Hello!” Floor waved. “My name Floor, because I am on the Floor. Floor heard fireball crash and found you in cave. Are you okay?”

            “Do I look okay?” the Nova asked sarcastically. “No, I’m not… Just kill me now so I may at least go out with some dignity…”

            “Floor no kill. Floor here to help,” Floor shook her head. With no will to resist the Nova let Floor hop into her lap, the rabbit’s ears twitching again as she unfurled her spider legs and pressed them against certain points on the Nova’s body.

            “What is she doing!?!” Rocket whispered.

            “It looks like she’s using acupressure points to relieve the Nova’s pain,” Lylla said, her medical knowledge giving her insight as to what Floor was doing. “She’s bring… comfort to her…”

            The Nova flinched as Floor pressed her legs onto pressure points, but stopped tensing as the pain in her body started to drain away. “What… the pain… is lessening…” she said.

            “Floor and friends make you feel better,” Floor said. She looked to her friends and waved. “Come friends! Help scaley lady!”

            “Do you think we can trust her?” Rocket asked.

            “I am Groot,” Groot shrugged.

            “She doesn’t appear to be a treat at the moment,” Teefs said.

            “I agree with both of them. There’s no harm in helping,” Lylla said.

            Rocket gave a sigh. “Fine. Teefs, Groot, go back and get the ship. We have medical supplies there.” The two left after that, leaving Floor, Rocket, and Lylla with the Nova. “So, Nova Corps lady, what’s your deal? Where’d you come from to land on this backwater planet?”

            “I am Centurion Fraktur of the Nova Corps, Andromeda Division,” the Nova replied. “I was on a mission to investigate a Kree-Skrull conflict out on the far sector of this area, but my ship was heavily damaged during the engagement. I was able to hit a jump gate to escape, but clearly the damage to my ship wasn’t enough to make it back to Xandar.”

            “We can get you home!” Floor offered.

            “No, we can’t,” Rocket said. “We’re trying to stay off the grid, remember? Besides, she’s way too big for our ship.”

            “She’s the same size as Groot,” Lylla pointed out. “Rocket, we can’t just leave her here to die. I’d feel awful if I knew I’d left someone behind just for our supposed safety.”

            Rocket scowled, but turned away and crossed his arms. “…I hate how much sense that makes…” he groaned. “Fine, we can take Fraktur back to the nearest Nova outpost, but we’re outta there as soon as we’re done, got it? I don’t need to be shoved back into another cell...”

            “Oh, like time we break Rocket out of space rock?” Floor said.

            “Or the time those poachers tried to sell us on the black market,” Lylla recalled.

            “Yeah, yeah, but I got us out each and every time,” Rocket dismissed. “I’m mostly trying to keep off the Nova Corp’s shit list here…”

            Fraktur looked at the raccoon. “Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be 89P13, would you?” she asked.

            “I go by Rocket now,” Rocket corrected her. “That’s Floor, she’s Lylla, the walrus is Teefs, and the tree is Groot.”

            “There’s been talk about a group of illegal experiments,” Fraktur said. “We only have so much information on you due to how you’ve been evading the law up to this point…”

            “Yeah, and we intend to keep doing that,” Rocket replied. “I’m not getting me or my friends locked up in a lab again.”

            Fraktur didn’t respond to that, keeping a hand resting on Floor as she stroked the rabbit’s fur. “…If you can get me to a Nova outpost, I’ll keep your involvement off the records,” she offered.

            “Really?” Lylla questioned.

            The Nova nodded. “Yes. I’d rather not have to admit to my co-workers that I was saved by ones such as yourselves. I have a reputation of being able to do things on my own to uphold. Though I would advise getting yourselves some sort of legal identification. It would make intergrading yourselves into galactic society much easier than constantly jumping from planet to planet.”

            “We’ll… consider that…” Rocket replied.

            “Scaley lady warm…” Floor cooed, snuggling into Fraktur’s grip.

            “Well, she is a space dragon. They tend to have fire sacs that keep their bodies at a warm temperature,” Lylla mused.

            “We’re back with the ship!” Teefs called, reentering the cave with Groot. The group got moving, with Groot and Teefs helping Fraktur to stand so she could walk to the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin.

            Rocket winced as the ship groaned a bit upon the Nova’s entry. It was clear that with all six of them on-board, their vessel was at their limit in terms of what they could hold. “I’m gonna have to reinforce the hull again if we have to take on more stragglers…”

            “If you think I’m big, you should meet my cousin,” Fraktur chuckled. “I’m not even a quarter of his biomass.”

            “Oh, big scaley man…” Floor said in awe.

            The Rakk ‘n’ Ruin was soon off into the sky, finding the nearest jump gate and heading off to the closest Nova outpost. As they flew there, Rocket stayed focused on flying while Fraktur made small talk with the rest of the crew.

            “So, what are you all doing out here? What’s a bunch of illegal experiments and a Floral Colossus do for money?” Fraktur asked.

            “We’re explorers first and foremost, traveling across the forever sky seeking nothing but the satisfaction of travelling,” Lylla replied.

            “We also have a knack for fixing things,” Teefs added. “Rocket’s really good with his hands- as am I.” He pulled out his robotic limbs to show off the mechanics. “He made us these upgrades to our robotic parts.”

            “So, a motley crew of mechanics and explorers,” Fraktur summarized. She patted Floor on the head. “And what’s this little one do?”

            “Floor is Floor. Floor is friend to all!” Floor replied.

            “Hm… Rocket is our pilot, a decent marksman, and the captain,” Lylla said. “Teefs helps with repairs and making things, I’m the medical expert- and a half-decent fighter myself, though Groot is our main muscle. As for Floor… For the longest time I didn’t understand the High- erm, our creator’s intentions with her programming, but I think in helping you I’ve come to understand it a bit more.”

            “I am Groot?” Groot said in surprise.

            Lylla nodded. “Yes, I thought that “comfort” and “manipulation” were contradictory, but I understand her design now. Floor was made to aid in the capture and rehabilitation of more… dissenting subjects. Her mechanics allow her to identify high levels of stress and use pressure points to safely subdue a target, while her innocent nature allows her to quickly gain the trust of others, though she also has a way of keeping herself out of harm should the target retaliate against her as well.”

            “Hm… So she was made in an effort to control and calm down troublesome experiments,” Fraktur summarized. “But she also has a way of putting others at ease… That makes me think of the therapy pets back on Xandar that the Nova use to help our ranks deal with trauma.”

            “Floor is not a pet,” Rocket growled.

            “I’m not saying she is, just that her assigned role is similar to one,” Fraktur replied.

            “Floor like helping others… Floor feel safe when others feel safe,” Floor said.

            “And we apricate your help always,” Lylla replied with a smile.

            The Rakk ‘n’ Ruin soon arrived at the Nova outpost, dropping Fraktur off with her people while also keeping her promise of not mentioning Batch 89’s involvement. The gang was back out in the stars once more, looking for something new to explore. Lylla took a seat next to Rocket, leaning up against his side as they flew through the starry sea.

            “It feels nice to help others, doesn’t it?” she asked him.

            “Yeah, I guess,” Rocket shrugged. “My main focus us keeping all of us safe, okay? But If you guys want to help others, then I guess I got no choice but to help as well… And Fraktur’s suggestion of getting us all officially documented might not be a bad idea- as long as I can make sure the High Evolutionary doesn’t track us down. The last thing we need is that guy dragging us back to his fortress again…”

Chapter Text

“Even when things diverge at a nexus event, timelines have a way of echoing across dimensional barriers. While Rocket Racoon may have his friends by his side, there is still the matter of Batch 89 finding a living out in the stars. And when you’re someone as skilled as Rocket, you tend to make your own ways of putting your skills to good use…”

            Onboard the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin, Rocket was looking over some targets while the ship was in autopilot. Ever since Batch 89 had registered to become official galactic citizens, Rocket had taken it upon himself to be the main breadwinner of the group, using his advanced intellect to fix other ships alongside Teefs and ferrying Lylla and Floor around to planets to help with relief efforts. What the raccoon had found the most enjoyable job to take on, however, was bounty hunting alongside Groot.

            The two made one heck of a duo, with Rocket’s rapidly increasing proficiency in guns and Groot’s plant-based abilities making them great at capturing their targets dead or alive (mostly alive, as Lylla preferred from them to only use lethal force in self-defense or when no other option was available). Of course, this profession also tended to get Rocket into a bit of trouble and on more than one occasion had he been imprisoned or captured, having to escape or get busted out by the rest of Batch 89. None of them wanted to be in a cage again and they were keeping it that way.

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked, stepping into the cockpit and leaning over to see Rocket’s screen.

            “I’m finding our next bounty, buddy, don’t worry,” Rocket waved him off. “Let’s see, who’s our next target gonna be? Talos- nah, that guy’s been missing for years from what I’ve read. The Black Order- and deal with Thanos breathing down our necks? Hard pass. Jack Harrison- eh, do I really want to take us all the way out to Terra just for this small bounty?”

            There was a rumble from a side panel on the wall, and Floor popped out. “Floor fixed leak, Rocket!” the rabbit said.

            “Good job, Floor,” Rocket smiled, patting his friend on the head.

            “What Rocket and Groot doing?” Floor asked.

            “Just finding our next target for bounty hunting,” Rocket replied, swiping through a few more files.

            “Oh, can Floor come on next mission?” Floor asked.

            “We’ll see which one we pick next,” Rocket shrugged. He suddenly stopped scrolling as a surprising face came on screen. “What the heck- is that guy like us?”

            “I am Groot?” Groot raised an eyebrow.

            “I never saw any bird Uplifts on Counter-Earth, so I don’t know if he’s one of High Evolutionary’s projects or not,” Rocket shook his head. “Hm… According to his file, Howard Duckson is from… Duckworld, seriously? They couldn’t come up with a better name for their world?”

            “To be fair, Counter-Earth isn’t the cleverest name High Evolutionary could have come up with,” Lylla pointed out, entering the room with Teefs behind her. “Did you find your next target, Rocket?”

            “Possibly. I just gotta look into it more…” Rocket said. He read the bounty, eyes going wide as he saw the prize money. “Woah, that’s a lot of units… Okay gang, looks like it’s duck season! Let’s see, Howard’s last known location was near Kral IV. That’s one of the former Skrull colonies if I recall the star maps correctly. And there just so happens to be a big casino that patrols that sector of space.”

            “Oh, a casino! That’s were people gamble away their money, yes?” Teefs asked.

            Rocket nodded. “Yep, which means we’ll need to be a bit more discreet this time around. I’m gonna need all of ya to help me out looking for Mr. Duckson as well, so this’ll be a team effort. Don’t go doing anything that’ll get us kicked out or shot at, got it?”

            “Aye, aye, Captain Rocket!” Teefs saluted.

            A few jump points later and Batch 89 were in the Kral IV sector, heading to the spaceship Big Casino for their bounty (yes, the casino was named Big Casino- the Skrulls hadn’t put a lot of effort into that one). Big Casino was a space station/casino hybrid run by Skrulls, the ship shaped like a Terran zeppelin with the inhabitants inside all shapeshifted to look like those of Terrans right out of the 1930s. It may have been a bit odd to see four talking animals and a tree walk into a place like this, but with all the other aliens around, it probably wasn’t even the weirdest thing to ever happen in Big Casino that week.

            “Okay guys, let’s split up,” Rocket said. “Everyone keep your coms open and eyes on the lookout for a talking duck in a red suit. His report says he’s no slouch when it comes to a shootout, so don’t engage until the rest of get there, got it?”

            “Okie-dokie, Rocket!” Floor nodded before scampering off into the casino.

            “I am Groot?” Groot questioned.

            “Floor will be fine, Groot. She can take care of herself,” Rocket assured his friend.

            “Besides, Floor doesn’t have any money to gamble with. How much trouble could she get into?” Teefs added.

            The gang split up from there, with Rocket and Lylla sticking together as they went duck hunting. It was a new experience being in a place like Big Casino, and honestly Rocket wasn’t sure if he was a fan. He was never big on spending money on things that weren’t building materials for his weapons and ship or the essentials, so gambling had little appeal to the raccoon. He could maybe get behind the entertainment with classics of yesteryear, and the bar would be a good place to stop by before heading out, but Rocket was solely focused on the mission right now.

            “Looks like someone let their pets in,” a rude patron said, sneering at Rocket and Lylla.

            “Hey, we’re no one’s pets. Free agents of the galaxy right here,” Rocket shot back.

            “Looks like the little badger is getting feisty,” the patron’s friend laughed.

            “Actually, Rocket is a raccoon, not a badger,” Lylla corrected.

            “And he’s got a little lady friend,” the patron said. “Look and ‘em, trying to be people.”

            “Says the shapeshifter that doesn’t show his own true face,” Rocket growled, putting a protective arm around Lylla. “And I’m not going to let you talk to my lady like that. Come on, Lylla, let’s go.”

            As the two went off somewhere else in the casino, Teefs was fiddling with a gadget as he rolled around between slot machines. The walrus had been learning from Rocket to make his own tools, mainly focusing onto attachments for his arms to better help with repairs and occasionally combat. This gadget in particular was a wave emitter that used sound to pinpoint a given target. It was supposed to work by giving off a frequency only heard by the target, but Teefs was having a bit of trouble making it work.

            “Perhaps if I adjust this…” the walrus muttered to himself, turning a nob before pressing a button. The machine turned on, giving off its waves… and proceeding to knock out the nearest slot goer, dropping the Skrull out of their disguise, their head hitting the bar to start the slot. “Oh dear… Well, at least that looks to be a winning pull,” Teefs said before quickly rolling off to mess with his gadget somewhere else.

            Meanwhile, Groot was blending in with some potted trees, occasionally swiping a drink off of a waiter’s tray for a quick sip. He was keeping an eye out for Howard, but clearly the duck was a lot more slippery than the gang thought he would be. Floor was nowhere to be seen either, but there wasn’t any major commotion, so she was most likely fine as well.

            “Still nothing to see here…” Rocket muttered as he and Lylla stopped at the bar.

            “We’ll find the target, Rocket. You always do,” Lylla assured him.

            “I know, I know…” Rocket sighed. As he drank from his glass, the raccoon’s ears twitched as he felt the cold metal of a gun being placed to the small of his back.

            “Subject 89P13,” the voice said.

            “Howard Duckson,” Rocket said, trying to play it cool as he slowly turned around to see the duck in question standing there with a pistol pointed at him. “And I go by Rocket.”

            “Then you can call me Howard the Duck,” Howard said. Lylla moved to defend Rocket, only for Howard to pull another gun out and point it out her. “I wouldn’t make a move either, Subject 89Q12.”

            “Lylla,” the otter corrected.

            “Heh, nice name for a lady,” Howard smirked. “Still, I caught wind of a bunch of animals coming to hunt me down here. Lots of hotshots try to take me down; what makes you think you can?”

            “There’s no one in the galaxy like us, so I think our odds are pretty good,” Rocket said, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

            “You know I’d hate to make a mess of his fine establishment, so how about we make a deal?” Howard offered. “I let you two live, and in return-”

            “Yeah, we’re not ones for making deals with our targets,” Rocket cut him off, quickly flipping his own gun into view, pointed at the duck’s head.

            “You think you can out-shoot me, raccoon?” Howard questioned.

            “I’m willing to find out,” Rocket smirked.

            “Gentleman, if you could take this business outside…” the bartender said as he and a few other Skrulls pulled out their own weapons, all aimed at the two feuding animals.

            “Seems we’ve gained an audience,” Lylla mused. “Perhaps we can take you up on your offer?”

            “Lylla, you know we don’t make deals like that,” Rocket said. “This bounty could really put us on track to the good life.”

            “But we also need to get out of here alive,” Lylla whispered.

            “I’d listen to your lady, Rocket Raccoon,” Howard said. “As for the rest of ya, don’t think I haven’t escaped worse scrapes than this. You think you have numbers, but no one stops Howard the Duck.”

            Suddenly all the Skrulls suddenly seized up, falling over and grabbing their ears in pain. “Oh, sorry about that!” Teefs apologized, rolling up with his device still in hand. “I thought I’d changed off of the Skrull setting, but apparently not.”

            “Thanks for the save, Teefs,” Rocket said, using the distraction to kick one of Howard’s guns away and getting rid of the one pointed at Lylla with a blaster bolt. Now disarmed the duck made a run for it, only for Groot to reach out and scoop up Howard into his arms, disabling him from moving.

            “Put me down you walking garden!” Howard squirmed.

            “You almost had us there, Duckson, but we came out on top here,” Rocket said. “Let’s get our bounty back to the ship, guys.”

            “What about Floor?” Teefs asked.

            “Floor here!” the rabbit exclaimed, popping up behind the walrus. Dragging behind her was a comically large bucket of units, along with an angry mob of casino goers.

            “…Do I even want to ask what happened?” Rocket sighed, pulling out his blaster once more as Batch 89 made their escape back to the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin.

            Howard grumbled to himself as they flew away from Big Casino, his hands firmly cuffed to his back as he was propped up in a seat by Groot. “Are these things really necessary?” he asked.

            “Yes. I have plenty of stuff in here I don’t want you touching,” Rocket nodded. “Now we just have to get you to Knowhere and-”

            “Oh duck, don’t tell me Tivan is the one that put out the bounty,” Howard groaned. “Does that hoarder have nothing else better to do?”

            “Sounds like you know the guy,” Lylla said.

            “He goes by “The Collector” and he loves to get his grubby little hands on whatever oddities he likes,” Howard explained. “And since I’m the only resident of Duckworld in this dimension, guess how valuable I am to him. I already escaped him once…”

            “So then you’ll can just escape him again,” Rocket shrugged. He gave the duck a somewhat sympathetic look. “Hey, I get not wanting to be around that guy. Trust me, he almost caged my crew when Groot and I first met the guy. But he’s offering good money for this… although the haul that Floor brought in might be just as good.”

            “Over a million units and counting, Rocket!” Teefs called.

            “I am Groot,” Groot was, impressed at the rabbit.

            “What did you do to win that many units, Floor?” Lylla asked.

            “Floor play cards with people in casino. They say Floor have poked face,” Floor explained.

            “It’s “poker face” kid. Means you can keep it cool and face ‘em out when playing cards,” Howard corrected. He looked to Rocket with a raised eyebrow. “How’s some illegal experiment so good with cards?”

            “Beat me? Floor’s got all kinds of skills we’re still trying to figure out,” Rocket shrugged. He then pulled out a keycard-looking device and slipped it into Howard’s pocket. “Here, take this. It’s an encoded lock picker, perfect for the cells that the Collector uses. I’m sure he won’t notice for a while if you slip out after a few days. Plus I have a policy of not taking the same bounty twice, so…”

            Howard gave a smirk. “You might not be so bad, raccoon. Maybe I could roll with your crew for a while.”

            “No thanks. We’re already cramped in here as is with just Groot- no offense, buddy,” Rocket said.

            “I am Groot,” the tree man waved off.

            “Floor can teach friends game she learned,” Floor offered. “Even got cards from casino man!”

            “I’d love to learn a new game, Floor,” Lylla said. “What’s the name of it?”

            The rabbit smiled. “Blackjack!”

Chapter Text

Batch 89 in

"Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 1"

“Even in diverging realities, some constants remain regardless of how much things change. These universal constants usually occur when only small changes have happened, but can still lead to differences in what occurs on the so-called Sacred Timeline…”

            Xandar, the home world of the Nova Corps and not the first place that Rocket would have chosen to look for their next bounty, but Lylla wanted to get some more supplies and Teefs wanted to sell some of his gadgets, so the raccoon couldn’t go against his teammates. Despite saving one of their officers in the past Batch 89 had a rocky relationship with the Nova Corps, with it always seeming like they were one wrong step away from getting tossed in prison, most likely due to some of their more questionable exploits they’d used during their bounty hunting.

            “Xandarians… look at ‘em all, always going someplace to do something else on this planet,” Rocket muttered to himself as he and Groot looked for their next target. “Who’d want to stick around in one place when there’s a whole galaxy out there to explore? I mean, look at that guy’s haircut! Seriously, you only get then whenever you don’t know what to do with your life.”

            Rocket moved his scanner around to look at more people. “Let’s see… Nope, not the kid- but could you imagine an evil child mastermind? How about… that guy? No, he’s just a pervert, not a criminal. Where’s your wife, old man? You see any targets, Groot? …Groot?” Rocket turned around to see Groot drinking out of the nearby fountain, the raccoon sighing at his friend’s antics. “Don’t drink fountain water, you idiot, that’s disgusting!” Groot shook his head in denial. “Yes you did, I just saw you! Why you lying?”

            Suddenly his scanner went off, bringing Rocket’s attention back to the device. “Oh, looks like we have our next bounty… Okay humie, how much are you worth… Peter Quill, wanted by Yondu Udonta- the leader of one of the Ravager crews? And this Quill guy is worth… 40,000 units!?! Groot, we’re gonna be rich!” Rocket smiled and looked to his friend, only for his face to fall when he saw Groot drinking from the fountain again.

            As Rocket came up with a plan to capture Quill, Teefs was off selling his wares to a man known only as the Broker. It wasn’t much money, but it made Teefs happy to contribute to the team’s funds in a small way. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Broker,” Teefs said.

            “As it is with you, Teefs,” the Broker replied.

            As Teefs left he almost ran into a human entering the shop, coincidentally being Peter Quill, the guy Rocket was targeting. “Excuse me, sir, just going through,” Teefs apologized after almost bowling the guy over.

            “…A talking walrus on wheels?” Quill muttered before shaking his head. “After you, man.”

            “Thank you,” Teefs smiled before exiting the building.

            “How’d it go, Teefs?” Floor asked, bouncing on her feet as her friend returned.

            “I think it went quite well, Floor,” Teefs replied. “I hope that Rocket and Groot’s mission is going as smoothly as mine has.”

            Just then the door to the Broker’s shop opened up as Quill was pushed out, the human shouting, “Hey, we had a deal, bro!” as the door was closed on him.

            “Sounds like his dealings didn’t go so well…” Teefs hummed.

            A nearby civilian, a woman in dark clothes with green skin, looked over at Quill. “What happened?” she asked.

            “Ah, this guy just backed out of a deal on me,” Quill replied, gesturing to the door. “If there’s one thing I hate, it’s a man without integrity. I’m Peter Quill, people call me Star-Lord.”

            “Oh, Star-Lord…” Floor said in awe.

            “I wonder what it takes to become a lord of the stars…” Teefs thought aloud.

            “You have the bearing of a man with honor,” the green woman said, her voice laced with sarcasm.

            “Well, you know, I wouldn’t say that,” Quill replied. “People say that about me, all the time, but it’s not something I would ever say about myself.”

            The green lady suddenly grabbed the orb from Quill’s hands and kicked him square in the gut, making a run for it as the human doubled over in pain. “She’s stealing his things!” Floor gasped.

            “And he was kind to me before… We must help get his wares back, Floor!” Teefs declared, racing after the green woman. Floor hopped on his back and launched herself at the thief, using her spider limbs to wrap around the woman’s arms and unbalance her enough to knock her to the floor.

            “Give back what you steal, thief!” Floor exclaimed, only to get tossed away by the woman. Quill caught up to the trio and tried to fight the woman for the orb, only for her to outmatch him with her martial arts skills.

            “This wasn’t the plan,” the woman said, pinning Quill to the ground and pulling out a sword. Suddenly she was tackled off the man by Lylla, the otter pulling out her staff to defend herself.

            “Now then, I don’t know what’s going on, but I saw you hurt Floor, so I’m not going to let you hurt this human either,” Lylla said to the would-be assailant.

            “Is there a zoo outbreak going on I didn’t know about…?” Quill wondered.

            “Grab him now, Groot!” Rocket shouted, suddenly appearing alongside Groot as the tree man stuffed the green woman in a sack. “No, that’s not the right one! Learn genders, man!”

            “Rocket, what’s going on?” Lylla asked as she watched Groot struggle with keeping the woman contained with his vines.

            “That humie is worth 40,000 units for his bounty- alive, I should add,” Rocket said.

            “You mean the man that’s just run off?” Teefs pointed out as Quill had fled the scene. “Shame, he held the door for me earlier…”

            “Aw great…” Rocket groaned before the green woman broke free of her bonds and tossed Rocket aside.

            “Hey! You can’t just hurt Rocket like that!” Lylla said, thrusting her staff at the woman, who blocked the attack with her sword. “Teefs, Floor, go after the human! Groot and I can distract this assassin.”

            “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” the woman warned.

            “You’re right: you don’t,” Lylla replied with some confidence, twisting the end of her staff to make electric progs appear out of the other side.

            Over with Quill, he was still trying to get away when a sudden sonic blast knocked him over, dropping the orb and letting it roll down to the ground level of the area. “Sorry about this, kind sir, but you do have quite the bounty on your head,” Teefs apologized, lowering his sonic cannon.

            “Of course Yondu put out a bounty…” Quill groaned. “And what the hell guys!?! You were just helping me!”

            “Sorry but Captain Rocket said to take you in!” Floor said, jumping onto Quill and using some rope from Teefs to tie him up.

            Down on ground level, Rocket had recovered from getting thrown and stood up to see the orb Quill had been carrying was right at his feet. “If that human and assassin were fighting over this, it has to be worth something,” the raccoon mused, only for get kicked away by the assassin lady once again. “Okay, I’m getting real tired of you tossing me around,” Rocket growled, pulling out his blaster and shooting the orb out of her hands and into the waiting arms of Groot.

            “Sorry about that, Rocky! She’s a lot tougher than I thought!” Lylla called from Groot’s shoulder as they dropped down a level.

            “We have the human as well!” Floor cheered, propping up Quill into a sitting position a she and Teefs joined the group.

            “Please don’t smile like that, Floor. It’s unprofessional while we’re on the job,” Rocket rolled his eyes.

            The assassin growled and turned her sword on Groot, slicing off both his arms and grabbing the orb from his severed grip. “Oh no you don’t!” Quill shouted, pulling free from his bindings (Floor wasn’t very good at tying knots), pulling out one of his blasters and using it to stun the assassin, making her drop the orb.

            As Quill grabbed the orb and tried to make a break for it, Rocket casually adjusted the sights on his blaster and set it to capture mode. “I live for the simple things, like how much this is gonna hurt,” the raccoon said, firing off a plasma ball than dropped Quill to the floor in and electrified mess. “That’s right, you’re not getting away that easy, little man. Mission accomplishes, gang!”

            “I am Groot…” Groot said, looking at his severed arms.

            “It’s okay Groot, they’ll grow back,” Lylla assured her friend.

            “Yay, we got the bounty!” Floor cheered. Her cheers were cut short, however, when Nova Corps ships flew down and used their capture beams to detain all of them, suspending them in midair.

            “Subject 89P13, drop your weapon. You and your gang are under arrest for the endangerment of life and destruction of property of the people of Xandar,” the Nova said.

            “Oh biscuits…” Teefs cursed.

            “Maybe dragon lady can get us out?” Floor suggested.

            “I don’t think she’ll be able to get out of this one, Floor,” Lylla said, looking around at the mess they’d all made during their pursuit of Quill. “We were already on their bad side, but this just gives them an excuse to lock us up.”

            “Hey, if it isn’t star prince,” one of the Nova said as they grabbed Quill.

            “It’s Star-Lord,” Quill corrected.

            “Sorry, “Star-Lord.” I picked his guy up a while back for petty theft. He’s got a code name,” the Nova explained to his colleague.

            “Do you think we should get code names, Rocket?” Teefs asked.

            “Not now, Teefs…” Rocket groaned as they were all taken into custody of the Nova Corps.

            At the Nova Corps detainment center, Rocket and the rest of Batch 89 (along with Quill and the assassin lady, apparently named Gamora) were being held by the Nova Corps, waiting to see what their sentence would be. Currently they were all being introduced to Nova Saal by fellow Nova Corps member Dey. “Subject 89P13. Calls itself “Rocket”. The result of illegal genetic and cybernetic experiments on a lower lifeform,” Dey said as Rocket rolled his eyes, spitting on the floor. “It’s also the leader of fellow illegal experiments that we have detained as well, all part of Batch 89 going off their subject numbers.”

            Lylla came in next, trying her best to keep her composure and not cause any trouble. “Subject 89Q12. Calls itself “Lylla.” Currently acts as the group’s medical officer and has been seen assisting other injured lifeforms during sightings of Batch 89.”

            “If you ever want to know who made us, you could just ask…” Lylla muttered as she was scanned.

            “Subject 89A95. Calls itself “Teefs.” A known seller of wares on various black markets across the galaxy.” Teefs simply waved to the Nova Members as he was scanned.

            “Subject 89L06. Calls itself “Floor.” It looks harmless but might just be the deadliest of Batch 89 right next to Subject 89P13. Don’t let it get a hold of sharp objects.”

            “Hello Nova! Say hello to dragon lady for me!” Floor said, oblivious to the situation she was currently in.

            “What the hell…?” Saal whispered as Groot was brought in.

            “They call it “Groot.” A humanoid plant that’s been travelling recently as Batch 89’s personal houseplant-slash-muscle,” Dey explained.

            “What a bunch of a-holes,” Saal said after the debriefing, getting a snort out of Dey. “Transport all of them to the Kyln.”

Chapter Text

            “Rocket had escaped confinement before, whether at the hands of the High Evolutionary or otherwise. This time, however, the entirely of Batch 89 was once more captive, and being trapped in a place those you tried to turn in for a bounty before may lead to… complications when making a plan…”

            “I guess most of Nova Corps want to uphold the laws, but these ones, they’re corrupt and cruel,” Rocket said causally as he, the rest of Batch 89, Quill, and Gamora were all lead into the Kyln. “But hey, that’s not my problem. I ain’t gonna be here long. I’ve escaped twenty-two prisons. This one’s no different. You’re lucky the broad showed up, otherwise me and my crew would be collecting that bounty right now, and you’d be getting drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers.”

            “Twenty-two? Rocket only escape twenty-one?” Floor whispered.

            “I believe he’s counting our first escape in there, Floor,” Lylla replied.

            “I’ve had lots of folks try to kill me over the years. I ain’t about to be brought down by a tree and his woodland friends,” Quill retorted to Rocket’s words.

            “Hold!” the guard called, making everyone stop where they were.

            “That’s Rocket Raccoon to you, humie,” Rocket muttered.

            “Whatever…” Quill rolled his eyes.

            “And just so you know, I may be a raccoon, but there ain’t no thing like Batch 89, ‘cept us,” Rocket boasted.

            “It’s true. One-of-a-kind creations,” Teefs nodded.

            Quill chose to ignore their comments and turned his attention to Gamora. “So, this orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe. What is it?”

            “I am Groot,” Groot shrugged.

            “So what? What’s the Orb?” Quill asked again.

            “I have no words for an honorless thief,” Gamora replied.

            “Pretty high and mighty coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac,” Rocket said. “Yeah, I know who you are. Anyone who’s anyone knows who you are.”

            “Yeah! …Who is she?” Floor asked.

            “I am Groot,” Groot replied.

            “Yeah, you said that,” Quill said.

            “I wasn’t retrieving the Orb for Ronan. I was betraying him,” Gamora stated. “I had an agreement to sell it to a third party.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “Well, that’s just as fascinating as the first eighty-nine times you told me that,” Quill said sarcastically. “What is wrong with Giving Tree, here?”

            “Well, Groot’s species of floral colossus speaks in a language that can’t be picked up on by universal translators,” Lylla explained. “So his vocabulary to the untrained ear is limited to only three words: “I”…”

            “Am”…” Teefs said.

            “Groot”!” Floor finished.

            “Exclusively In that order!” Rocket added.

            “I tell you what, that’s gonna wear thin, real fast,” Quill responded.

            “If you stick around long enough, you might just be able to pick up on what he’s saying,” Lylla said. “Not that Rocket will take long to come up with an escape plan for you to reach that point…”

            “Well, we need Quill to come with us for that bounty, so maybe he will learn to “hear” Groot the way we do,” Teefs said.

            As the group continued down the hall they passed by the impound lockup for all of the inmates of the Kyln’s personal items. ‘We’ll need to make sure we stop by there on the way out so I can get my weapons…’Rocket made a mental note.

            “Hey! Put that away,” Quill said to one of the guards who was messing with one of the human’s personal items. He stepped into the impound lockup just as the door closed. “Listen to me, you big blue bastard. Take those headphones off! That’s mine. Those belong to impound. That tape and that player is mine!” The guard growled and stabbed Quill in the gut with a stun baton, making the human fall to his knees in pain. “Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!”

            Lylla winced as Quill got jabbed by the stun baton again. “Well, at least he’s got good taste in music…” she said.

            “Don’t give him the time of day, Lylla. Let’s just get this over with…” Rocket shook his head.

            The group was then put through the process of getting assimilated into the Kyln’s system, starting with stripping down and getting sanitized with orange cleaning fluid. Floor giggled as she was covered in the stuff, coming out looking like a marshmallow treat you’d have at Easter time. After that was putting on the standard yellow inmate uniform of the Kyln, separated by men and woman. Rocket felt Quill’s eyes on him as he put on the uniform, the human no doubt staring at the exposed mechanical parts on his back.

            ‘Just ignore him, Rocket. They all stare at you guys anyways,’ he thought. “Teefs, let me help you get that thing on.”

            “Thank you very much, Rocket,” Teefs replied as the raccoon used his hands to maneuver the inmate top around Teef’s body. Since the walrus’ mechanical collar wasn’t part of his body the Nova Corps had put that in impound, leaving Teefs with only his wheels.

            “Hm… Floor not like yellow. Doesn’t suit Floor at all,” Floor said as they all stepped out of the changing room, each getting handed a sleeping roll.

            “It’s definitely not my preferred color either,” Lylla nodded. “Rocket could pull it off, though.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said cheekily.

            “I can’t compliment my love?” Lylla shot back.

            The main part of the Kyln was a massive super-jail with multiple levels of cells, the bottom floor being mostly tables for inmates to use, a central watchtower with Nova guards inside, and security drones hovering in the air to keep a watchful out on the inmates.

            “So Rocket, what’s the plan?” Teefs whispered.

            “These things take time…” Rocket said. He watched as the other inmates took notice of Gamora, throwing items and insults as her reputation preceded her. “It’s like I said, she’s got a rep. A lot of prisoners here have lost family to Ronan and his goons. She’ll last a day, tops.”

            “Rocket!” Lylla gasped.

            “What? It’s just a statistic,” Rocket shrugged.

            “Aw, I like green lady. She has big knife, cut off Groot’s arms!” Floor said cheerfully.

            “I am Groot…” Groot rubbed at his newly-grown arms in discomfort.

            “Does friend Lylla think Floor could learn to stab from green lady?” Floor asked.

            “I don’t think you should be admiring someone’s ability to stab, Floor…” Lylla sighed.

            “The guards will protect her, right?” Quill asked.

            “They’re here to stop us from getting out. I fear they don’t much care for what happens inside the prison,” Teefs replied.

            “Whatever nightmares the future holds, are dreams compared to what’s behind me,” Gamora said.

            As they moved through the crowd of angry inmates, a large blue alien blocked their path. “Check out the fresh meat,” the alien said, sizing up Quill. “I’m gonna slather you up in Gunavian jelly, and go to town…” The guy was promptly shut up by Groot, who shoved two fingers up the guys nose and lifted him into the air with one hand.

            With all attention on them, Rocket took the moment to make a speech. “Let’s make one thing clear: this one here is our booty! You wanna get to him, you go through us!” Lylla, Floor, and Teefs all put on intimidating looks to help back up their friend’s claim. “Or, more accurately, we go through you.” Groot them dropped the alien, the guy crying on the floor as he held his nose as Batch 89 walked over him.

            “…I’m with them,” Quill said as he quickly followed behind the crew.

            Rocket made his way over to one of the open cells, throwing down his sleeping roll. “Okay, we’re staking out this place for us, got it? And we’re taking shifts to make sure no one comes in here and tries anything funny.”

            “Aye-aye, Captain Rocket! I’d be glad to volunteer for first watch,” Teefs said, giving a salute.

            “They keep calling you that. Are you seriously a captain?” Quill questioned.

            “Rocket is the one that helped us escape from the man who created us,” Lylla replied.

            “Sire was mean, did not care for us, but Rocket did. Friend Rocket fly ship and keep Floor Teefs Lylla safe,” Floor added.

            “Not like you guys are slouches out in the field,” Rocket chuckled. “Lylla’s the medic, Teefs is weapon support, Groot is the muscle, and Floor… well, she’s the wild card, but she does her part.”

            “I stab enemies and make then stop moving!” Floor said cheerfully, posing with her spider legs.

            “…Fun,” Quill said, nervously stepping into the cell with Batch 89.

            Later that night, Rocket found himself being woken up by Lylla. “Rocky, Quill left the cell,” Lylla said.

            “Whaazat? Quill…?” Rocket rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and noticed that Quill was in fact not here. “Where’d he go?”

            “Some other prisoners dragged Gamora away and he went after them,” Lylla answered.

            Rocket groaned, gesturing for Lylla to follow him. “Great, our bounty’s gonna get himself killed because he thinks the deadliest woman in the galaxy is hot.” The two scampered off after Quill, making their way to the showers where Gamora was being held at knifepoint. However it seemed that a third party was already intervening, being a muscly green man with many red tattoos all over his body.

            “…And you know why they call me this,” the tattooed man said as he approached the inmates.

            “You’ve slayed dozens of Ronan’s minions,” the lead inmate said, fear in his voice.

            “Ronan murdered my wife, Ovette, and my daughter, Camaria. He slaughtered them where he stood… and he laughed!” the man shouted.

            “…Holy shit, that’s Drax the Destroyer,” Rocket recognized, making Lylla gasp and Quill look confused.

            “Her life is not yours to take,” Drax continued. “He killed my family. I shall take one of his in return.”

            “Of course, Drax,” the lead inmate said, holding out his knife as an offering. “Here, I…” Gamora chose that moment to break free, incapacitating two of the inmates and stealing their knives, holding one to Drax and the lead inmate’s throats.

            Quill moved forward towards the group. “Quill, what are you doing!?!” Rocket whispered.

            “I am no family to Ronan or Thanos,” Gamora said, backing off and dropping the knives to the ground. “I’m your only hope at stopping him.” In response to that Drax screamed and choke slammed Gamora against the wall.

            “Woman, your words mean nothing to me!” Drax said, pointing his knife at her.

            “Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey!” Quill said, holding out his hands.

            “Oh crap…” Rocket cursed, pinching the bridge of his muzzle.

            “You know, if killing Ronan is truly your sole purpose I don’t think this is a good way to go about it,” Quill said to Drax.

            “Are you not the man this wench attempted to kill?” Drax questioned.

            “Wow, word travels fast around here,” Lylla mused.

            “Well, I mean, she’s hardly the first woman to try and do that to me,” Quill shrugged. He pulled out his shirt to show off some of his scars. “Look, this is from a smoking-hot Rajak girl. Stabbed me with a fork. Didn’t like me skipping out on her at sunrise. I got, right here, a Kree girl tried to rip out my thorax. She caught me with this skinny little A’askavariian  who worked in Nova records. I was trying to get information. You ever see an A’askavariian? They have tentacles and needles for teeth. If you think I’m seriously interested in that, then…”

            “I don’t think he cares, Quill,” Lylla sighed.

            “But here’s the point: She betrayed Ronan. He’s coming back for her,” Quill said. “And when he does, that’s when you….” He made a slashing motion across his neck.

            “Why would I put my finger on his throat?” Drax raised an eyebrow.

            “What? …Oh no, this is a symbol for you slicing his throat,” Quill clarified.

            “I would not slice his throat. I would cut his head clean off,” Drax replied.

            “It’s a general expression for you killing somebody,” Quill argued. He looked to Rocket and Lylla. “You’ve heard of this. You know what this is.”

            “All too many times…” Lylla chuckled.

            “Especially from the guys I really piss off,” Rocket laughed.

            “Everyone knows,” Quill said. “What I’m saying is, you want to keep her alive. Don’t do his work for him.”

            Drax looked at Quill, then back to Gamora. The air was tense with energy for a good few seconds… before Drax let Gamora go, the woman falling to the floor as she gasped for air. Lylla went over and checked on Gamora. “Hm, looks like there is some bruising, but it’ll heal by the morning,” Lylla said.

            “I like your knife. I’m keeping it,” Drax said to the lead inmate as he walked away.

            “…That was my favorite knife,” the inmate said sadly.

            Gamora soon left after that, with Quill following behind her and Rocket and Lylla behind him. “What, not gonna say “thank you” or anything?” Quill questioned. “Listen! I could care less whether you live or whether you die.”

            “Then why stop the big guy?” Gamora asked.

            “Simple. You know where to sell my Orb,” Quill replied.

            “How are we gonna sell it when we and it are still here?” Gamora questioned.

            “Rocket here has escaped twenty-two prisons, with some assistance from his loyal crew,” Lylla said.

            “Oh, we’re getting out, and then we’re heading straight to Yondu to retrieve his bounty,” Rocket said.

            “How much was your buyer willing to pay for my Orb?” Quill asked.

            “…Four billion units,” Gamora replied.

            “What!?!” Rocket and Lylla exclaimed.

            “Holy shit,” Quill gaped.

            “That Orb is my opportunity to get away from Thanos and Ronan. If you free us… I’ll lead you to the buyer directly and I’ll split the prophet between the four of us,” Gamora said.

            “Batch 89 count as one entity- legally, at least- so it’s a three-way split,” Rocket corrected.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said, peeking out from their cell.

            “Groot wants his cut to be separate, so four-way split it is,” Lylla said.

            “Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per fricking usual,” Rocket shook his head. He let out a yawn. “Okay, we can discuss the plan in the morning. For now, let’s sleep on it…”

            The next day Rocket discussed the plan with his team, Quill, and Gamora during mealtime. “If we’re going to get out of here, we’re gonna need to get into that watchtower, and to do that I’m going to need a few things. The guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs. I need one.”

            “Leave it to me,” Gamora said.

            “Floor help too! Floor move fast!” Floor hopped in.

            “I don’t need you slowing me down,” Gamora shook her head.

            “Let Floor help, Gamora. She’s handy with her knowledge of weak points on the body,” Lylla said.

            “…Fine,” Gamora sighed while Floor cheered.

            “That guy there? I need his prosthetic leg,” Rocket said.

            “His leg?” Quill questioned.

            “Yeah. God knows I don’t need the rest of him,” Rocket said. “Look at him, he’s useless.”

            “But how would that-?” Lylla questioned, only for Rocket to shush her.

            “I just need the humie out of the way until we get into the watchtower,” Rocket whispered.

            “All right,” Quill shrugged, not hearing what the raccoon had said.

            “And finally, on the wall back there is a black panel. Blinky yellow light Do you see it?” Rocket continued.

            “Indeed. There is a panel of that description up there,” Teefs nodded.

            “There’s a quarnyx battery behind it. Purplish box, green wires. To get into that watchtower, I definitely need it,” Rocket said.

            “How are we supposed to do that?” Gamora asked.

            “Well, supposably, some bald-bodies here find you attractive. Maybe you can work out some kind of trade?” Rocket replied.

            “You must be joking,” Gamora said flatly.

            “No, I heard they find you attractive,” Lylla said.

            “Hm… The panel is twenty feet up in the air in the most secure part of the prison. I don’t imagine it would be possible to get that battery without being seen,” Teefs hummed.

            “Well the only plan I’ve got requires that battery, Teefs, so we’ll have to figure something out,” Rocket said. As this was all going on, Groot was using his tree abilities to stretch up and rip open the panel to grab the batteries.

            “If only we had our tools back on the ship. You could finish working on those jetpacks,” Lylla said.

            “if only, Ly, if only,” Rocket sighed. “Now, this is important. Once the battery is removed, everything is going to slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly, so we definitely need to get that last.” It was then that Groot ripped the battery out of the panel, causing the power to short out as emergency lights and alarms went off. “…Or we can just get it first and improvise.”

            “I’ll get the armband,” Gamora said, running off with Floor.

            “Leg,” Quill said, going off with Teefs.

            Rocket rubbed his face in annoyance as Lylla put a comforting paw on his shoulder. “Let’s just help Groot secure the battery, okay?” she said.

            “Prisoner, drop the device immediately and retreat to your cell, or we will open fire,” the watchtower guard announced, surrounding Groot with security drones.

            Groot just rolled his shoulders as spikes grew from his bark. “I am… Groooooot!” he shouted in defiance. The guard ordered the drones to fire on the tree-man, Groot whipping out his arms and batting them away as he was pelted with bullets.

            “All prisoners return to your sleeping areas,” the guard announced.

            Rocket and Lylla ducked and scampered along the ground, climbing up to Groot’s shoulders to take refuge from the hail fire of bullets. “You idiot! How am I supposed to fight these things without my stuff!?!” Rocket shouted.

            “How I wouldn’t mind one of those weapon upgrades to offered for my arms right about now,” Lylla said, reflexively holding up her metal arms to block bullets that went her way. The team would get some unexpected help from Drax the Destroyer, however, as he rushed some of the Nova guards and took them down before they could shoot at the animals.

            “Freaky little beasts!” Drax called, tossing two guns to Rocket and Lylla. The two caught their weapons, primed and ready to cause some robot destruction.

            “Oh… yeah,” Rocket grinned, before he, Groot, and Lylla let out war cries, opening fire on the security drones as they spun in a circle. Rocket couldn’t help but laugh at bit at the mayhem that was going on. ‘Not part of my plan, but damn if this isn’t a good time!’

            Over with Quill and Teefs, the two of them were in the man with the prosthetic leg’s cell, oblivious to the destruction going on outside. “You need my what…?” the man questioned.

            “Your leg, sir. It’s very important to my friend’s escape plan,” Teefs said.

            “Well okay, but it’ll cost ya,” the man shrugged.

            “…What’s your price?” Quill sighed.

            As that deal was going down, Gamora and Floor sprinted across the prison, dodging bullets and taking down guards along the way. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” Floor said as she and Gamora made their way through the Nova guards.

            “Why are you apologizing?” Gamora questioned.

            “Nova just doing jobs, but in way of friend Rocket’s plan, so Floor sorry for hurting Nova,” Floor explained.

            “Don’t be. These guys are as corrupt as they get. It’s deserved,” Gamora replied. The two were interrupted by a guard with a riot shield and another with a baton. The warrior woman disarmed the shield-bearer while Floor used her spider legs to wrap around the torso of the baton-wielding Nova, pressing into his pressure points to disable the nerves in his arms before kicking him to the ground with her powerful legs.

            “Sorry, Mr. Guard!” Floor said. “Oh, and I’ll be taking your stick. Sorry again!”

            Gamora meanwhile used her leg to hold her opponent in place. “I’ll be taking this,” Gamora said, eyeing his armband.

            “Good luck. It’s internally wired,” the guard scoffed.

            “I’ll figure something out,” Gamora said before breaking his arm and securing the armband.

            “…Green lady is the coolest…” Floor said in awe.

            Back with Quill and Teefs, the two had acquired the man’s prosthetic leg and were racing to rejoin the others when they got held up by a guard with a gun. “Drop the leg! Drop the leg and move back to your cell!” the guard ordered. Quill slowly moved to put the leg down… before using it as a bludgeoning tool and knocking the guard unconscious.

            “My, that is useful for this mission,” Teefs mused. “I had my doubts, but you proved me wrong, Mr. Star-Lord.”

            “Here, hold this,” Quill said, pulling the leg on Teefs’ flippers before picking up the guard’s dropped blaster, using it to take out a drone.

            On ground level Rocket’s fun has just ended as his and Lylla’s guns ran out of ammo. “Friend Rocket! We have armband!” Floor called as Gamora tossed the device to the raccoon.

            “Move to the watchtower!” Rocket ordered Groot. He hummed to himself as he fixed the armband and battery together as Groot stretched himself to reach the watchtower, Rocket and Lylla climbing up to meet Gamora and Floor waiting for them there. Quill started to climb up Groot as well, but needing both hands meant he couldn’t fight of a drone coming his way.

            “Mr. Star-Lord, look out!” Teefs cried.

            Help came in the form of Drax, the muscled man jumping up and grabbing the drone before ripping it apart with his bare hands. “You! Man who has laid with an A’askvariian!” Drax called.

            “It was one time, man,” Quill sighed, continuing his climb. Drax started to follow up Groot behind Quill, using only one arm to do so as he used his free hand to pick up Teefs and haul him up to the platform.          

            “Oh my, such strength in you, good sir,” Teefs said in amazement.

            “Of course. I cannot hope to destroy Ronan if I am not strong,” Drax replied.

            “We need all available guards in full combat gear…” the watchtower guard announced before an alarm went off, making him turn around to see the crew standing there, Rocket’s device hacking the door successfully. He held up his hands in surrender as the team entered the watchtower, Groot throwing the man out as the next phase of the plan began.

            Gamora looked at Drax in surprise as Rocket started working on the control panel. “Spare me your foul gaze, woman!” Drax said to her face.

            “Why is this one here?” Gamora questioned.

            “We promised him he could stay by your side until he kills your boss,” Quill replied. “I always keep my promises when they’re to muscle-bound wack-jobs who will kill me if I don’t.”

            “We got the leg for your, Rocket,” Teefs said, handing the prosthetic over.

            “Oh I was just kidding about the leg. I just needed these two things,” Rocket said with a giggle.

            “What!?!” Quill said in shock.

            “No, I just needed the humie out of the way… and I thought it would be funny,” Rocket laughed. “Was it funny? Oh, wait, what did he look like hopping around?”

            “Ah I see… he was funny looking, yes,” Teefs chuckled.

            “I had to transfer him 30,000 units!” Quill exclaimed.

            “Sounds to me like you didn’t haggle a good deal,” Lylla chuckled.

            “Well, at least it knocked out that one guard,” Teefs said. “And I can use the parts for my tinkering.”

            “How are we going to leave?” Drax asked as more drones came in, shooting at the windows of the watchtower.

            “Rocket has a plan, don’t worry,” Lylla assured him. “…You do have a plan, right, Rocky?”

            “I have a plan! I have a plan!” Rocket said as he scampered around the control panel.

            “Cease this yammering and relieve us from this irksome confinement,” Drax said.

            “Yeah, I’ll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one,” Quill nodded.

            “…Do not ever call me a thesaurus,” Drax said seriously.

            “It’s just a metaphor, dude,” Quill replied.

            “His people take everything literally, Mr. Quill. Metaphors will only go over his head,” Lylla said.

            “Nothing goes over my head,” Drax replied. “My reflexes as too fast. I would catch it.”

            “…I’m gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy,” Gamora realized.

            “At least you’ll have friends with you!” Floor cheered, oblivious to the danger. “Green lady pet Floor if it make green lady feel better.”

            Lylla sucked in a breath as she noticed the reinforcements had arrived outside, wielding bigger weapons than before. “Those are some big guns,” Quill said as they were hit by the first rocket launcher.

            “Rodent, we are ready for your plan,” Gamora said.

            “Hold on!” Rocket shouted as the second launch was sent their way.

            “I recognize this animal. We roast them over a flame pit as children,” Drax said. “Their flesh was quite delicious.”

            “No, I’m sure it’s a raccoon-like species, but not exactly a raccoon,” Teefs shook his head.

            “Not helping!” Rocket barked as the third launch hit them, cracking one of the windows. He pulled out some wires from the panel as the guard gave their final countdown, Rocket slamming to connectors together and grinning as the console made a powering-down noise. Suddenly everything outside of the watchtower started floating.

            “You turned off the artificial gravity everywhere in the Kyln except in here!” Lylla cheer.

            “See? Friend Rocket is the best with machines!” Floor giggled. Rocket pulled a switch on the console, freeing the watchtower from its base before pressing a few buttons, calling over the still-active drones to attach to the bottom of the tower, turning it into a makeshift craft.

            “I told you I had a plan,” Rocket grinned, pressing the controls as everyone held on tight as the ship flew its way to freedom, bouncing around the hallway until finally coming to a crash. He pressed one final button, closing off the blast doors to make sure the Nova couldn’t come after them.

            “That was a pretty good plan,” Quill admitted.

            “Oh good show, Captain Rocket,” Teefs smiled, clapping his flippers together.

            As everyone got out of the watchtower and started raiding the nearby impound boxes for supplies, Quill went over to the window and pointed out of it. “There, get my ship! It’s the Milano, the orange and blue one over in the corner.”

            “They crumpled my pants up into a ball,” Rocket muttered as he tossed out the rest of his crew’s clothes to them. “That’s rude. They folded the rest of ya’lls!”

            “Here you go, Teefs,” Lylla said as she reinstalled his tool collar.

            “Oh how I missed you, hands,” Teefs sighed in relief as he made sure his robotic arms still worked.

            Quill went over to the side of the room and pulled out the box with his stuff, making sure that everything was there. “The Orb’s there, let’s go!” Gamora said, looking over his shoulder as she grabbed her stuff.

            “Wait, wait, wait, wait…” Quill said.

            “What wrong?” Floor asked.

            “That bastard didn’t put it back,” Quill replied.

            “Put what back?” Gamora questioned.

            “Here. Get them to the ship, I’ll be back,” Quill said, handing over the Orb to Gamora.

            “Hare you gonna possibly…” Gamora started.

            “Just keep the Milano close by. Go. Go!” Quill ordered as he ran off down the hall.

            The remaining escapees made their way to the ship bay, where Rocket made sure to stop by the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin to grab anything they needed before going to the Milano. “Is that everything?” he asked his crew.

            “Friends leave ship behind?” Floor questioned as she held her stuff close. “But ship friend too, yes?”

            “Look, Floor… we all need to be together to escape, and Mr. Quill’s ship has more room than the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin does,” Lylla tried to assure her friend.

            “It will be sad leaving it here, though…” Teefs sighed.

            Rocket looked between his friends. “I know that she means a lot to us. She did carry us around the galaxy for all these years, right? But the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin is just a ship- a very cool, very nice ship, but still just a hunk of metal that hurls us through space. We made a promise to see the stars together, and that won’t change, no matter how we fly through the forever sky together, okay?”

            “What Rocket’s saying is that it’s not the ship that matters, but the crew that mans it,” Lylla added.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “…Okay then. Rocket Lylla Teefs Groot Floor go now to human ship!” Floor said as she bounded off to the Milano. Batch 89 boarded the ship, with Rocket taking up the pilot’s seat as they got out of the Kyln.

            “Huh, where did. Mr. Star-Lord go?” Teefs asked.

            He said to wait for him outside,” Gamora said.

            “What!?! Where’d he go?” Rocket questioned.

            “He declined to share that information with me,” Gamora sighed.

            “Well… flark,” Rocket groaned. “We can’t just leave without our bounty, but I ain’t gonna wait around for a humie with a death wish either! You got the Orb, right?”

            “Yeah,” Gamora said, opening up the bag Quill gave her… only to find it filled with junk.

            “…It seems he made sure we’d wait for him,” Lylla mused.

            “Hah-hah, human play joke on us!” Floor laughed.

            “Look, if we don’t leave now, we’ll be blown to bits,” Rocket argued.

            “No! We’re not leaving without the Orb,” Gamora demanded.

            “I would feel bad leaving Mr. Star-Lord behind as well,” Teefs added.

            “Behold,” Drax suddenly said, looking out the window to see Quill flying towards them, mask on and rockets on his feet.

            “Hm… maybe I should make jet-skates instead of a jetpack…” Rocket muttered to himself as they all went to go let Quill onto the Milano.

            “This one shows spirit,” Drax said as he helped Quill up out of he hatch. “He shall make a keen ally in the battle against Ronan. Companion, what were you retrieving?” Quill handed over his cassette tape. “…You’re an imbecile.”

            “Oh, a music tape. And there’s a stereo built into the ship that should play the cassette,” Teefs said, poking around the ship.

            “At least we won’t get bored without any music…” Lylla chuckled tiredly.

Chapter Text

            “Batch 89 had escaped the Kyln, with some new reluctant allies on their side in the from of Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer. While all of them had separate goals, they were united by Gamora’s promise of splitting the payment she’d acquire by selling Star-Lord’s Orb to a very interested buyer…”

            Rocket hummed to himself as he worked on his latest invention, using what spare parts Teefs had brought from the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin and whatever else he could find about Quill’s ship. The trip was going to take a while, so the raccoon figured he could at least create something new in the meantime. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yo, Ranger Rick! What are you doing!?!” Quill exclaimed as he walked in the room. “You can’t take apart my ship without asking me! See, what is this?”

            “Don’t touch that,” Rocket warned, not looking up from his work. “That’s a bomb.”

            “A bomb?” Quill questioned.

            “Yep,” Rocket nodded casually.

            “And you leave it lying around?” Quill said in disbelief.

            “It’s more common than you think,” Lylla giggled. “Normally he would put it in a box, though…”

            “What’s a box gonna do!?!” Quill exclaimed.

            “Oh, Floor find box!” Floor called, pushing out a crate from underneath where Rocket was working. She picked up a wrapped box and held it up. “Friend Rocket should use pretty box for bomb!”

            “No! Woah, hey, leave it alone!” Quill said, taking the box away from Floor.

            The rabbit’s ears dropped lower than usual. “Oh… Did Floor do something wrong?”

            “None of your business,” Quill replied, making Floor even more sad.

            “Hey, back off of Floor. She’s only trying to help,” Rocket growled.

            Quill sighed, turning his attention back to the raccoon. “What even is that?”

            “That is for if things get really hardcore,” Rocket explained. “Or if you wanna blow up moons.”

            “No one is blowing up moons,” Gamora sighed.

            “It’s just a hypothetical,” Rocket said, before muttering to himself. “Always sucking the joy out of everything…”

            “So, listen, I’m gonna need your buyer’s coordinates,” Quill said to Gamora.

            “We’re heading in the right direction. For now,” Gamora replied.

            “If we’re gnna work together, you might try trusting me a little bit,” Quill said.

            “And how much do you trust me?” Gamora questioned.

            Quill put his hand on the Orb. “I’d trust you a lot more I you told me what this was. Because I’m guessing it’s some kind of weapon.”

            “I don’t know what it is,” Gamora admitted.

            Drax picked up the Orb. “If it’s a weapon, we should use it against Ronan.”

            “Put it down, you fool. You’ll destroy us all,” Gamora demanded.

            “His name is “Drax the Destroyer,” so it would be fitting that he’d be the end of us,” Teefs mused.

            “I’d rather have a peaceful death than being murdered, thank you very much,” Lylla sighed.

            “Or I’ll just destroy you, murderess!” Drax shouted at Gamora.

            “I let you live once, princess!” Gamora shot back.

            “Drax is a princess!?!” Floor gasped.

            “I am not a princess!” Drax shouted.

            “Hey! Nobody is killing anybody on my ship!” Quill insisted. “We’re stuck together until we get the money.”

            “…I have no interest in money,” Drax said, tossing the Orb to Quill and walking away.

            “Great. That means more money for the rest of us,” Quill said.

            “We have an agreement, but I’d never be partners with the likes of you,” Gamora said. “I’ll tell the buyer we’re on our way. And Quill, your ship is filthy.”

            “Oh she has no idea,” Quill smirked as Gamora walked away. “If I had a black light, this place would look like a Jackson Pollock painting.”

            “I have an idea,” Lylla sighed. “I could smell it as soon as we walked in…”

            “You got issues, Quill,” Rocket shook his head.

            Teefs hummed along to Davie Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” as the Milano flew along, the walrus inspecting his weapons as Quill posed with his guns. “Those are some fancy-looking blasters, Mr. Star-Lord,” Teefs complimented.

            “Yep, the Quad Blasters are pretty cool,” Quill nodded. “Got ‘em as a Christmas gift, actually.”

            “Ah, yes, Christmas… I’ve old heard about it in what Rocket told us of Sire’s lectures,” Teefs said.

            “Who’s this “Sire” guy?” Quill asked.

            “The man who created us. A mad scientist that wanted to create the perfect society,” Lylla explained as she entered the room. “He calls himself the High Evolutionary, and if you weren’t perfect in his eyes, he would… dispose of you. Rocket found out what he would do to us and planned a daring escape. We’ve been on the run ever since.”

            “Not that Sire has any desire to search for us, of course,” Teefs shrugged. “He’s probably more concerned with his next creation.”

            “Oh, wow… That’s, uh, sounds pretty rough,” Quill said sympathetically.

            “We’ve gotten by well all things considered, especially with Rocky leading us,” Lylla replied.

            “You mean Rocket? Are you two… you know…” Quill mimicked kissing with hand puppets.

            “Yes, Rocket and I are lovers,” Lylla giggled. “He’s quite sweet when you get to know him.”

            “Heads up! We’re inbound,” Rocket’s voice called from the cockpit of the ship. Everyone gathered in the room to look out at their destination.

            “Whoa…” Quill said in awe at the giant floating head in front of them.

            “What is it?” Drax asked.

            “It’s called Knowhere. The severed head of an ancient celestial being,” Gamora explained. “Be wary heading in, rodent. There are no regulations whatsoever here.”

            “You think this is my first time coming to Knowhere?” Rocket scoffed as they flew inside the structure.

            “It has been a while since we were here last,” Teefs noted.

            Soon the Milano had landed, leaving the group to wander around the planet to where the buyer would be. “Remind Floor what Knowhere is?” Floor asked.

            “Hundreds of years ago, the Tivan Group sent workers in to mine the organic matter within the skull,” Lylla explained. “Bone, brain tissue, spinal fluid. All rare resources, highly valued in black markets across the galaxy. It’s dangerous and illegal work, suitable only for outlaws.”

            “Well, I come from a planet of outlaws,” Quill replied. “Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, John Stamos.”

            “It sounds like a planet I’d like to visit,” Drax said.

            “Yeah, you should,” Quill nodded.

            “I’d like to acquire human music records for our own ship,” Teefs said.

            “Yeah, you were jamming out back in the Milano. You like my tunes?” Quill asked.

            “Terra has some of the most interesting music. In particular I enjoy the sounds music made by bugs,” Teefs replied.

            “Bugs…? You mean the Beatles? That’s just their stage name, man,” Quill said.

            “Yes, that’s the name. The have some lovely songs I enjoy when our radio picks them up,” Teefs nodded.

            “Oh look, small people!” Floor pointed out as children approached the group, begging for Units.

            “Watch your wallets,” Quill warned as they passed by.

            Groot, however, stopped and sprouted a flower from his hand, letting Lylla take it and give it to one of the children. “Stay safe, young one,” the otter said as the girl smiled. Soon the group had arrived at where they assumed their buyer was.

            “Your buyer’s in here?” Rocket questioned as they approached a bar.

            “We are to wait in here for his representative,” Gamora explained.

            “This is no respectable establishment,” Drax said as they watched a drunkard get tossed out onto the street. “What do you expect us to do while we wait?”

            “It’s not what we do, but what Floor does,” Rocket said with a smirk. “First round of drinks is on me!”

            Soon Batch 89 and Drax were having the time of their lives betting on one of the games in the bar, with Floor’s almost supernatural luck when it comes to gambling earning them a fair share of Units. “The small one has given us another victory!” Drax exclaimed, patting Floor on the head as he tossed back another drink. “Let us put more of this burning liquid in our bodies.”

            “That’s the first thing you said that wasn’t bat-shit crazy!” Rocket laughed, having had his own fair share of drinks himself.

            “Do be careful with the drinks, Rocky…” Lylla said with worry, knowing how rowdy her beloved raccoon could get whenever he started drinking.

            “It’s fine, Lylla. Let him have some fun,” Teefs giggled, wobbling on his wheels as he too was under the influence.

            “Friend Lylla, why Floor have no drinks?” Floor asked. “Floor want to be silly like friends.”

            “For the same reasons we don’t let you eat sugar before bedtime,” Lylla replied. She shook her head and sighed. “Sometimes I feel like I’m the one that has to be in charge around here…”

            “But friend Rocket is captain,” Floor pointed out.

            “Yes, Floor, but I meant it in the way that I make sure we’re all okay,” Lylla said. “Rocket keeps us safe, but someone has to look after him as well. And as the team medic, it’s my job to do just that.”

            “Oh… okay then! Floor go win us more money now!” Floor nodded before hopping back to gambling. As is common to happen whenever a room is full of inebriated aliens, however, soon a fight started to break out between Drax and Groot, the destroyer tackling the tree-man to the ground and punching at his bark. That was the moment that Gamora and Quill reentered the room, with the assassin pulling Drax off Groot.

            “Hey… no one messes with my friend!” Rocket said, drunkenly pulling out his blaster and pointing it at Drax.

            “Whoa, hey! What are you doing!?!” Quill exclaimed, getting between the raccoon and Drax.

            “This vermin speaks of affairs he knows nothing about!” Drax replied.

            “That is true!” Rocket shouted back.

            “He has no respect!” Drax added.

            “That is also true!” Rocket spat.

            “Hold on, you two!” Lylla exclaimed, joining Quill in trying to break the tension.

            “Keep calling me vermin, tough guy! You just want to laugh at me like everyone else!” Rocket shouted at Drax.

            “Rocky, you’re drunk. No one’s laughing at you, okay?” Lylla said, putting her hands on his blaster and gently pulling it from his hands, letting the weapon safely drop to the ground.

            In what seemed like a moment of clarity, Rocket’s fight seemed to extinguish as he clumsily grabbed onto Lylla, holding her tight. “H-He thinks we’re just some stupid things!” he slurred out. “Well, I didn’t ask to be made! I didn’t ask to be torn apart, and put back together over and over, and turned into some… some little monster.”

            “Rocket, no one’s calling you a monster,” Quill said. Having heard part of Rocket’s backstory from Lylla, he could understand where the raccoon’s pain was coming from.

            Rocket pointed at Drax. “He called me “vermin”!” He pointed at Gamora. “She called me “rodent”!”

            Floor suddenly came to his side, latching onto Rocket and nuzzling into him. “Friend Rocket mad at mean words, but only words. Let friends make Rocket feel better.” Lylla nodded, tightening her grip on him.

            “…You guys…” Rocket muttered, sobbing quietly as Lylla and Floor comforted him.

            Quill watched the scene with a bit of smile before turning to Gamora and Drax. “See? These guys know how to care for each other. If you keep trying to kill each other every five seconds, then you’ll never have friends like that.”

            “I did not come here to make friends, Peter Quill. We have travelled halfway across the quadrant, and Ronan is no closer to being dead,” Drax said, pushing Gamora away as he walked off.

            “Mr. Drax… wait up…” Teefs called, swerving as he tried to follow the warrior.

            “Let him go. We don’t need him,” Gamora shook her head as Groot help Teefs back from following Drax.

            It was then that the door to the bar opened, revealing a pink-skinned woman in a white dress. “Milady Gamora. I’m here to fetch you for my master,” the woman said.

            “Well, I guess it’s time to go,” Lylla muttered, picking up Rocket’s gun and storing it away safely.

            “The Collector… I was hoping we’d never have to come back here,” Rocket grumbled as the group followed behind the pink lady.

            “You’ve been here before?” Quill whispered.

            “We did one job for this guy, but this is one place I’d rather not be in again,” Lylla shuttered.

            “Hello space doggie!” Floor waved to one of the exhibits, an Earth dog wearing a space suit. The dog barked in reply. “Yes, Floor doing well with friends!”

            “…I am Groot?” Groot questioned.

            “Maybe Floor learned to speak dog, like we did to speak Groot,” Teefs shrugged.

            “We house the galaxy’s largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all manner,” the servant said to the group. She stopped as they reached the center of the building and gave a bow. “I present to you: Taneleer Tivan, The Collector.”

            The Collector was a white-haired humanoid with an air of fashion, fitting since he was the brother of the Grandmaster. He walked up and turned his attention to Gamora. “Oh, my dear Gamora. How wonderful to meet in the flesh.” He took her hand and kissed it.

            “Let’s bypass the formalities, Tivan. We have what we discussed,” Gamora said.

            The Collector looked over her shoulder and saw Groot standing there. Ah, I see that the Groot and his little friends are with you as well,” he said, looking at Groot with hunger in his eyes.

            “I know what you’re going to ask, Collector, and the answer is the same as last time: neither me nor any of my friends are up for sale,” Rocket said, jumping up on a table to be face-to-face with the man.

            “At the moment I’m more interested in having his carcass… after his time of death, of course,” the Collector replied.

            “I am Groot?” Groot raised an eyebrow.

            “Are you planning to turn our dear Groot into a chair?” Teefs gasped.

            “Hm. You should keep a better leash on your pets, Groot,” the Collector said, making Rocket growl and reach for his gun before Lylla put a hand on his shoulder.

            “He’s not worth it,” Lylla shook her head.

            “Tivan, we have been halfway around the galaxy retrieving this Orb,” Gamora spoke up.

            “Very well then. Let us see what you brought,” the Collector said. Gamora looked over to Quill, who pulled out the Orb… before dropping it and quickly picking it back up.

            “Star-Lord funny,” Floor giggled.

            The Collector took the Orb and placed it inside a device, everyone gathering around to watch. “Oh, my new friends… Before creation itself, there were six singularities.” He pulled a lever on the device, opening up the orb as holograms played in the air around them. “Then the universe exploded into existence, and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots. Infinity Stones. These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength.”

            He pointed to one of the holograms. “Observe.” Everyone looked to see a large being, a Celestial, wielding one of the Stones as part of his staff, looking over a planet as the people ran away in terror. “These carriers can use the Stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field.” The Celestial slammed his staff into the ground, causing the entire planet to break down and explode from the power.

            “…There’s a little pee coming out of me right now,” Quill shuttered.

            “Once, but a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves,” the Collector continued. “But even they were quickly destroyed by it. The device finished opening the Orb, revealing the purple Infinity Stone inside. “Beautiful. Beyond compare.”

            “I’ve read about these Infinity Stones before. The purple one represents Power,” Teefs said.

            “Floor no like how it feels,” Floor shuttered, hiding behind Teefs from the stone.

            “This is all very fascinating, whitey, but when to do we get paid?” Rocket said.

            “How would you like to get paid?” the Collector asked as he turned off the holograms.

            “What do you think, fancy man? Units!” Rocket demanded.

            “Very well then,” Collector nodded, opening up a drawer on his desk. He side-eyed his assistant as she got closer to the Power Stone. “Carina. Stand back,” he commanded.

            Carina got a serious look on her face. “I will no longer be your slave!” she shouted, grabbing onto the Stone.

            “No!” the Collector shouted as the Power Stone started shooting off energy, breaking exihibits and knocking things over.

            “Flark! Everyone duck and cover!” Rocket ordered, Batch 89 scrambling as Groot put up his arms to create a shield for them to hide behind.

            “Carina, let go!” Lylla shouted, but her words fell on deaf ears as the Power Stone tore the girl apart in a mighty explosion that rocked the building and broke every window inside. Batch 89 was sent flying, Groot’s arms stretching out to grab onto everyone as they landed outside.

            “Oof!” Teefs grunted as he fell to the ground, acting as the bottom of the animal and tree pile. “Oh… I hope that explosion didn’t break my wheels.”

            “Is everyone okay?” Lylla asked. “Any injuries?”

            “Floor seeing many Lyllas… World spinning for Floor…” Floor said in a daze before shaking it off.

            “Guys, I think this is all a bit more than we were looking to get involved with…” Rocket said with worry as he looked back at the shattered building.

Chapter Text

            “The Power Stone, one of the six infinities born from the creation of the universe. With its power the Stone can destroy entire planets in an instant, though many that have tried to wield it parish themselves. And with its power made know to Rocket and the others, those seeking such destructive power are soon to come and make it their own…”

            “How could I think Tivan could contain whatever was within the Orb?” Gamora asked herself as she and Quill exited the Collector’s den.

            “What do you still have it for!?!” Rocket exclaimed as he looked at her in shock.

            “Well what are we gonna do, leave it in there?” Quill questioned.

            “I can’t believe you were carrying around such a powerful artifact in your purse,” Teefs shook his head.

            “It’s not a purse, it’s a knapsack!” Quill retorted.

            “We have to bring this to the Nova Corps. There’s a chance they can contain it,” Gamora said.

            “I have to agree. Even if we’re wanted criminals at the moment, it’s better than if someone like Ronan or stars forbid Thanos got their hands on it,” Lylla nodded.

            “I get what you’re saying, Ly, but I’d rather just get outta here and put all of this nonsense behind us,” Rocket said.

            “Friend Rocket leave new friends behind?” Floor gasped.

            “They’re not our friends, Floor. We were just going with them to get our payment, and now we have no units, no buyer, and no ship to get off this flarking planet!” Rocket growled, making the rabbit flinch at his aggression. “Besides, what has the galaxy ever done for us, huh!?! Why should I or any of us for that matter put our tails on the line to save it!?!”

            “Because I’m one of the idiots that lives in it!” Quill shouted.

            “Peter, listen to me. We cannot allow the Stone to fall into Ronan’s hands. We have to go back to your ship, and deliver it to the Nova,” Gamora said.

            “Right, right, okay. I think you’re right,” Quill nodded. “Or, we could give it to somebody who’s not going to arrest us, who’s really nice, for a whole lot of money. I think it’s a really good balance between both of your points of view.”

            Gamora looked at him in disgust. “You’re despicable. Dishonorable. Faithless!”

            “I am Groot…?” Groot said with worry, pointing up at the sky. The group turned around to see Kree ships coming down into Knowhere, with Drax laughing as he help up his knives, ready for combat.

            “Oh flark…” Rocket cursed, already reaching for his gun.

            “At last! I shall meet my foe and destroy him,” Drax laughed.

            “You called Ronan!?!” Lylla and Quill exclaimed.

            “Quill! Don’t you move, boy!” a voice shouted, making the group turn to see a blue skinned man with a red mohawk wearing the Ravagers uniform making his way through the crowd.

            “Who that?” Floor wondered as Quill and Gamora made their escape.

            “I think we have more pressing matters right now, Floor…” Teefs said worriedly as Ronan stepped out of his ship to confront Drax.

            “Ronan the Accuser!” the destroyer shouted.

            “You are the one who transmitted the message?” Ronan asked.

            “You killed my wife… You killed my daughter!” Drax shouted.

            “…Yeah, I think we should be going now,” Rocket said, running off to follow Quill and Gamora.

            “But what about Mr. Drax?” Teefs asked.

            “He dug his own grave, let him lie in it!” Rocket said callously as Batch 89 made their exit. The group quickly caught up to Quill and Gamora, finding the two commandeering one of the mining crafts. Rocket opened up one of the pods and started clambering inside. “Okay, it looks like there ain’t enough room in one of these things for Groot or Teefs to feet… Floor, Lylla, with me!”

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked.

            “We’ll be back to get you two once we secure the Milano,” Lylla said. “Stay safe out there!” With that the three pods took off towards the Milano, though it wasn’t long before they had Kree ships on their tails, no doubt coming after the Orb.

            “Floor, fire the weapons!” Rocket ordered.

            “Uh… Floor see no weapons,” Floor replied.

            Rocket growled. “Great, just great… I really wish we had the Rakk ‘N’ Ruin right about now. How are we supposed to fight back without any weapons!?!”

            “These are industrial grade pods. They’re practically indestructible,” Quill replied over the coms.

            “Not against necroblasts they’re not,” Rocket shook his head.

            “That’s not what I’m saying,” Quill said.

            Rocket paused before he got a smirk on his face. “Oh… Okay gang, hang onto something!” Rocket pulled on the controls and rammed their pod right into the Kree ships, knocking them off-balance and making them crash into each other.

            “Woah… Floor spinning again!” Floor exclaimed as Rocket worked to rebalance the pod.

            “Ugh, I should have had a lighter lunch if I knew we were going to be doing this…” Lylla said, turning a bit green in the face from the intense motion.

            “Hold it in until we get outside Ly,” Rocket said before ramming right through another ship. The raccoon piloted their pod expertly, zipping around and ramming through as many Kree ships as they could. Ronan had brought his whole army, though, and there seemed to be a never-ending wave of ships pursuing them.

            “Quill, I can’t make it to the Milano. I have to take this outside!” Gamora said.

            “These things aren’t made to go outside!” Quill replied, but Gamora was already flying her pod out of Knowhere to try and escape. It was a futile attempt, as a blast from one of the ships obliterated the pod, leaving Gamora floating out in space.

            “Gamora!” Floor shouted in despair, pressing her face against the window and vainly trying to reach out to her.

            “Oh no…” Lylla whispered in fear as one of the ships used a tractor beam to grab the Orb, meaning Ronan had one this battle.

            Rocket looked at Gamora’s body floating out in space, closing his eyes and sucking in his breath before deciding to make his next move. “Quill, come on. Her body mods should keep her alive a couple more minutes, but there’s nothing we can do for her. These pods aren’t meant to be out here. In a second, we’re gonna be in the same boat.”

            “Rocket…?” Floor looked at the raccoon in shock as he turned the pod around and went back to Knowhere. “No, we save Gamora! Rocket Lylla Floor Quill save Gamora!”

            “I’m doing what’s best for my friends, Floor!” Rocket suddenly barked. “And I’m not going to let you all die in the cold vacuum of space like Gamora. She’s gone, Floor… I’m sorry…”

            Floor started tearing up as Lylla went to comfort the rabbit, Rocket trying his best not to let the crying get to him as he flew away. Until… “Yondu! Yondu!” Quill’s voice crackled over the coms.

            “Quill?” Rocket said, turning the pod to look at him.

            “This is Quill! My coordinates are 227K324!” Quill said.

            “Quill. Quill, what are you doing?” Rocket questioned.

            Quill went on, “It’s just outside Knowhere. If you’re there, come get me. I’m all yours.”

            Rocket looked on in shock as Quill got out of his pod and flew over to grab Gamora’s body. “Quill, don’t be ridiculous! Get back into your pod! You can’t fit two people in there. You’re gonna die. You’ll die in seconds. Quill-” But the coms died after that. Rocket, Lylla, and Floor watched as Quill took of his mask and put in on Gamora, practically sacrificing himself to save her until the light of a Ravager ship shined down on them, pulling the two inside.

            “…We have to go get Groot and Teefs,” Rocket said. “I’m done with all of this…”

            Back down on Knowhere, Groot and Teefs had gone back to where Drax had last been seen battling against Ronan. While the two didn’t see the full outcome of the fight, it was clear that Ronan had won seeing as the accuser’s ship was leaving the area. Teefs pulled out a scanner from his collar and found Drax drowning in a pool of celestial fluid.

            “Groot, get him out of there!” Teefs ordered, the tree man nodding and stretching his limbs to pull Drax from the pool. “His lungs are filled with fluid. Oh, if only my large and distinguished teeth didn’t get in the way of performing CPR…” Groot once again came in with the answer by transforming one of his fingers into a needle, jabbing it into Drax and forcing the warrior to cough up the fluid from his lungs. “Oh, that worked well. Good thinking, Groot.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot replied.

            It was then that Rocket’s pod came crashing down near the three of them, the raccoon muttering angerly to himself while Floor and Lylla took a moment stop their heads from spinning. “Blasted idiot. They’re all idiots!” Rocket shouted, looking at Drax with distain. “Quill just got himself captured. None of this would have happened if you didn’t try to single-handedly take on a fricking army!”

            Drax sighed. “You’re right… I was a fool. All the anger, all the rage… was just to cover my loss.”

            “Mr. Destroyer…” Teefs said, putting a comforting flipper on the man’s shoulder.

            “Oh boo-hoo, “My wife and child are dead”,” Rocket mocked, causing the rest of Batch 89 to gasp.

            “Rocket!” Lylla exclaimed.

            “That’s no excuse to go and do something stupid and leaving everybody else dead along the way!” Rocket went off. “That’s why I use my head before doing stuff, why I make all of my plans. I have to be responsible for these guys so I don’t loss any of ‘em… I-I don’t think I could live with myself if they died because of me.” The raccoon turned away from Drax. “Groot, Teefs, let’s go. Ronan has the Stone, so we need to get to the other side of universe where maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to live our full lives before that wack-job ever gets there.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said, standing up tall.

            “Save them?” Rocket questioned.

            “Yes! Friends save friends!” Floor nodded in agreement.    

            “Floor, they’re not-” Rocket started to say.

            “Rocket say Quill Gamora Drax not friends, but they friends to Floor!” Floor shouted.

            “I agree with Floor,” Teefs said. “We may not have known them for long, but I felt a connection when our group was together, escaping the Kyln as a team.”

            Lylla put a hand on Rocket’s shoulder. “Rocky, I get that you want to keep us safe, but aren’t you tired of always running away? Wouldn’t you like to make more friends than just us?”

            “I am Groot,” Groot nodded.

            Rocket shrugged, before turning around and kicking the ground. “…I know, I know, okay!?! But there’s an army of Ravagers around them. And there’s only the five of us!”

            “…Six,” Drax corrected, taking a stand next to Groot and Teefs.

            The raccoon’s fur bristled, before dropping his arms and letting out a huge sigh. “Fine, maybe I miss Quill and Gamora too, okay!?! There, I said it!” He calmed down a bit and looked at his team. “Well? How are we gonna do it then? Any idea is a good idea at the moment.”

            “Well, we still have the Milano, right?” Teefs pointed out.

            “And there is that new weapon you’ve been working on,” Lylla added.

            Rocket nodded. “Okay, okay… okay! Yeah, we could do something with those. Let’s walk and talk on the way to the ship, got it?”

            “Yeah! Rocket Lylla Floor Teefs Groot Drax go save friends!” Floor cheered as the gang went to go do just that.

            And that was how Batch 89 and Drax ended up parking the Milano right outside of Yondu’s ship, firing off some non-damaging shots to get their attention as Drax standing on top of the ship with Rocket’s latest weapon. “Attention, idiots. The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hadron Enforcer. It’s a weapon of my own design.”

            “I’m surprised he finished it so fast,” Lylla whispered, Teefs nodding in agreement.

            “If you don’t hand over our companions now, he’s gonna tear your ship a new one. A very big new one!” Rocket threatened. “I’m giving you to the count of five. Five! Four! Three…”

            Suddenly, Quill’s voice came over the coms. “Rocket, it’s me, for God’s sakes! We figured it out! We’re fine!”

            “…Oh hey, Quill. What’s going on?” Rocket asked. The Milano was then let onto Yondu’s ship where the team reunited with Quill and Gamora to hear what their plan was. “You call that “figuring it out”!?! We’re gonna rob the guys that beat us senseless.”

            “Oh, you want to talk about senseless? How about trying to save us by blowing us up?” Quill shot back.

            “To be fair, it was only if they weren’t going to turn you over, if even that, Mr. Star-Lord,” Teefs spoke up.

            “And how on earth were they going to turn us over when you only gave them five seconds?” Quill questioned.

            “We didn’t have time to work out the minutiae of the plan…” the walrus muttered.

            “We just want to help friends,” Floor sighed.

            “I am Groot,” Groot shook his head.

            They are ungrateful,” Rocket nodded.

            “What’s important now is we get the Ravagers’ army to help us save Xandar,” Gamora refocused the team.

            “So we can give the Stone to Yondu, who will then sell it to somebody even worse?” Lylla questioned. “It sounds like we’ll be stuck going in circles then…”

            “But we have to stop Ronan… the question is how we do it…” Rocket frowned.

            “I have a plan,” Quill declared.

            “You do!?!” Floor gasped.

            “Didn’t Rocket say he had a plan back during the Kyln just like that?” Teefs recalled.

            “People say that all the time. It’s not a unique thing to say,” Quill pointed out.

            “I don’t believe he actually has a plan,” Rocket scoffed.

            “I have part of a plan!” Quill shouted.

            “What percentage of a plan do you have?” Drax asked.

            Gamora pointed at the destroyer. “You don’t get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere.”

            “I just saved Quill,” Drax said.

            “We already established that you destroying the ship I’m on is not saving me,” Quill said pointedly.

            “When did we establish this?” Drax questioned.

            “About… three seconds ago,” Lylla said helpfully.

            “I wasn’t listening. I was thinking of something else,” Drax muttered.

            Lylla sighed. “Quill, what percentage of a plan do you have?”

            “I don’t know. Twelve percent?” he answered.

            “Twelve percent!?!” Rocket exclaimed, before bursting out into hysterics.

            “That’s a fake laugh…” Quill frowned.

            “It’s real!” Rocket glared.

            “Rocket not laugh very good,” Floor nodded.

            “That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life because that is not a plan,” Rocket defended himself.

            “It’s barely a concept,” Gamora agreed.

            “You’re taking their side?” Quill gaped.

            “I am Groot,” Groot pointed out.

            “So what if it’s better than 11%? What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Rocket questioned.

            "Thank you, Groot. Thank you,” Quill said, clapping a hand on the tree-man’s shoulder. “See? Groot’s the only one of you who has a clue… Guys. Come on. Yondu is gonna be here in two seconds. He expects to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help. I look around at us… You know what I see? Losers.”

            “Well, that’s not a nice thing to say…” Teefs frowned.

            “No, I mean, folks who have lost stuff,” Quill clarified. “And we have. Man, we have. All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And usually, life takes more than it gives. But not today. Today, it’s given us something. It’s given us a chance.”

            “To do what?” Drax asked.

            “To give a shit,” Quill replied. “For once. To not run away. I, for one, and not gonna stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives.”

            “I get what you’re saying, Quill, but stopping Ronan… if he has that Stone, it’s impossible,” Rocket sighed. “You’re asking us to die.”

            Quill looked away for a moment. “Yeah, I guess I am…”

            “Quill. I have loved most my life surrounded by my enemies. I will be grateful to die among friends,” Gamora said, standing up from her seat.

            Drax stood up next. “You are an honorable man, Quill. I will fight beside you. And in the end, I will see my wife and daughter again.”

            Groot took his stand. “I am Groot.”

            “I concur. If this is our last act, then let it be together with those I care about by my side,” Teefs nodded.

            “Floor fight for friends, Floor die for friends!” Floor declared.

            “The galaxy needs us, and I will do anything to keep it and my family that lives in it safe,” Lylla smiled. She turned and looked at Rocket.

            The raccoon sighed, before giving his own smile and standing up. “What the hell. I don’t got that long a lifespan anyways. If I’m going out, it’s in a blaze of glory! …Well, I’m standing now. Happy?”

            “Very much,” Lylla giggled, putting her hand in as the others put theirs on top. “It’s good to have friends, so let’s save the galaxy, together!”

Chapter Text

            “With the team fully assembled, Star-Lord had come up with a desperate plan to stop Ronan and his galaxy conquering ambitions. Batch 89 were ready and willing to assist however they could, and soon a new force for good in the universe would be born…”

            The plan to stop Ronan was fairly simple: while Rocket and Teefs would lead the Ravager fleet against Ronan’s forces, Quill and Yondu would fly the rest of the team inside of Ronan’s flagship, The Dark Aster,where after Gamora hacked the shields protecting Ronan, Quill would use the Hadron Enforcer to kill the accuser and get back the Power Stone. Quill would also put in a call to the Nova Corps to hopefully get their help as well, though Rocket figured they should be able to do this themselves in need-be… at least, he holped they did.

            “This is a terrible plan,” Gamora said.

            “Hey, you’re the one who said you wanted to die among friends,” Quill reminded her.

            Rocket looked up into the sky as Ronan’s fleet came down, the raccoon in awe at the massive Kree warship. “Oh man, I wish we could have a ship like that…” he said.

            “What would we do with all of that space, though?” Teefs asked.

            “I dunno. I can have an entire hanger for making ships, you can make a workshop for your sculptures, Lylla can run a medical facility out of this thing, and Floor can… do whatever Floor would want to do,” Rocket replied.

            “Floor make indoor garden with Groot!” Floor replied over the coms.

            “Sure, that works,” Rocket shrugged.

            “Can I just say that I love the new outfits we have,” Lylla said, admiring the matching red Ravager jumpsuits she and the rest of the team were wearing. “I didn’t know red was my color, but I quite like it.”

            “You were wearing pink before. Pink is a lighter shade of red,” Drax pointed out.

            “Can you folks stop clogging up the coms with your jabbering?” Yondu groaned. “Cannons, fire!” The two main gunships of the Ravager fleet shot out large energy pulses, creating a plasma barrier that acted as cover for the smaller warbird ships to fly underneath and get the jump on Ronan. Rocket and Teefs led two other ships to the designated area of The Dark Aster where they would blow a hole in the side for Quill and Yondu to enter through.

            “There, right there!” Teefs called, pointing out on the scanners where Rocket should fire the guns. “And do hurry, Captain Rocket.”

            “We’ve got this, buddy,” Rocket assured him as he started firing the cannons on the ship. The raccoon kept his focus on the epicenter of the firing area, even as The Dark Aster started moving out of the way. Once a hole was blown he shouted, “Quill, Yondu! Now!”

            He turned the ship around and started firing on the Kress ships, taking out as many as he could to defend the hole for the others to enter. The plan started to go south, however, as Yondu’s ship was shot down, leaving only Quill’s team to complete the second part of the plan. “We won’t make it, Rocket! There’s just too many of them!” Gamora exclaimed.

            The tide shifted again, however, as Nova ships suddenly arrived on the scene. Quill’s message had worked! “Bucket heads here to help friends!” Floor cheered.

            “Peter Quill. This is Denarian Saal of the Nova Corps,” the leader of the Nova fleet called. “For the record, I advised against trusting you here. Prove me wrong.”

            “They got my “dick” message!” Quill exclaimed.

            “Let’s punch it, Star-Lord!” Lylla cheered as Quill put the engines of the Milano into full throttle, blasting them through the hole Rocket had made. Drax started laughing as they skidded along the floor of the ship, Floor laughing along as the drifted to a stop within the bowels of the vessel. “Urp, I’m gonna need a moment to catch my breath…” Lylla wheezed, a bit green in the face from the rough landing.

            “We’re just like Kevin Bacon,” Gamora said to Quill.

            “Again, again!” Floor cheered as she hopped out of her seat.

            Lylla readied her pistol as the team stepped out of the ship and into the darkness that surrounded them. “There’s barely any light in here… Groot, if you could?”

            The tree-man nodded, holding up his hand and releasing bioluminescent spores into the air, creating a light source for them to navigate the ship with. “Oh, pretty lights…” Floor said in awe.

            “Since when could you do that?” Drax questioned.

            “I’m pretty sure the answer is “I am Groot”,” Quill replied.

            “The flight deck is 300 meters this way,” Gamora said, taking the lead as they went further into The Dark Aster.

            “I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance after my blunders,” Drax said. “It is pleasing to once again have… friends. You, Quill, are my friend.”

            “Thanks,” Quill replied.

            “This dumb tree and his rodent companions, they are my friends,” Drax continued.

            “Um… thank you?” Lylla said, unsure of how to take Drax’s “compliment.”

            “And this green whore, she to, is…”

            “Oh, you must stop!” Gamora shouted.

            It was then that a figure jumped down from the ceiling, a blue cyborg woman that Lylla couldn’t recall seeing before, but guessed that they were probably one of Ronan’s minions. “Gamora, look at what you have done,” the woman said. “You have always been weak. You stupid, traitorous…”

            “Cyborg lady!” Floor gasped, before rushing up to the woman and hopping around her with joy. “Have robot parts like Rocket Lylla Floor Teefs! So cool, just like Gamora! You friend of Gamora?”

            “I am Nebula, little pest,” the woman replied. “And Gamora is the one I called sister, before she betrayed us-”

            “Floor want blue lady to be friends!” Floor said.

            “Uh, Floor, I don’t think she’s the negotiating type…” Lylla said with worry.

            Nebula tried to grab Floor, only for the rabbit to hop out of the way and use her spider legs to latch onto the cyborg woman. With a rapid series of taps Floor was able to lock up Nebula’s cybernetic parts, which basically meant all of her body. With a simple tap Floor sent her tumbling down into the ship, with everyone else looking on in confusion and a slight sense of terror. “…What? Blue lady needed to calm down, so Floor make her calm down,” Floor shrugged.

            “Okay, remind me not to mess with the Monty Python rabbit…” Quill said as the group moved on with their plan.

            “I wanted to use this weapon against the blue whore,” Drax frowned. “But the little one is a great warrior, I’ll admit.”

            “Maybe don’t call every woman you don’t like a whore, Drax…” Lylla sighed.

            “Head to the flight deck. I’ll shut down power to the security doors,” Gamora said.

            “Go with green lady! See Lylla Groot Quill Drax later!” Floor said, running off after Gamora. The duo soon found themselves where the controls for the security doors were, but they were not alone here. Apparently Nebula’s internal systems were quick to undo the damage that both Floor’s pressure point attacks and subsequent falling off of the walkway did, as the cyborg had beaten them to their destination.

            “Nebula, please,” Gamora pleaded, but her sister wouldn’t listen, prompting the two to go head-to-head for who would gain access to the control panel. As that was happening, Lylla and the boys were making their way towards the control center when they were stopped by a hoard of warriors.

            “Star-Lord!” the lead guard shouted.

            Quill smirked. “Finally…” he said before a fight broke out. Lylla readied her blaster and started peppering the guards with blaster fire, while Quill started wrestling with the lead guard before Drax got his turn, but it was clear that the enemy was more experienced in fighting than they were expecting.

            “You will never make it Ronan,” the guard taunted.

            “We’ll see about that,” Lylla said, holstering her blaster and grabbing a cylinder off of her belt. It was the special weapon Rocket had made for her in case she needed to fight in close combat, and now was a better time as any to use it. The otter pressed a button on the cylinder, extending it into a staff with electrical prongs coming off the end. She gave a battle cry before jabbing the weapon into the guard’s leg, making him cry out in pain as hundreds of volts of electricity went through his body.

            This gave Drax enough leverage to grab and throw the man against the wall before pinning him down. “Finger to the throat means death,” the destroyer said before ripping out the man’s cybernetic implants, killing him. Drax then looked to Quill and nodded, “Metaphor.”

            “Yeah, sorta,” Quill shrugged.

            “He’ll get there someday…” Lylla said. “But it appears we have more enemies inbound.”

            The group turned to see more Kree soldiers coming at them, but Groot stepped forward to fight them off. The tree man stretched out his arm and skewered half of the guards on it before slamming them repeatedly into the walls, ceiling, floor, and other guards till all of them were no longer a threat.

            Quill looked over to Lylla as Groot gave a war cry, the otter just giving a casual nod of approval as if Groot did this on the regular (which he did, but normally on bounty missions with Rocket). As soon as the soldiers were taken care of, Groot turned around and smiled at his friends, to which Lylla gave him a small golf clap. “Good job handling them, Groot,” she praised, before the ship suddenly shook.

            "Lylla, you there?" Teefs' voice called out on her earpiece.

            "We're here, Teefs," Lylla replied.

            “Quill, you gotta hurry. The city’s been evacuated, but we’re getting our asses kicked down here,” Rocket said.

            “Gamora and Floor are still working on the door controls, Rocky,” Lylla said as she electrocuted another soldier.

            Down in the door control room, Gamora and Nebula were still duking it out in a one-on-one sword battle, while Floor awkwardly watched from the sidelines. The rabbit idly stared out the hole that had been blow in the side of the ship, before looking to the control panel that the sisters had forgotten about. Floor hopped over to it and started pressing buttons, hoping that one of them would open the door her friends needed open. After many buttons being pressed (that may or may not have caused many Kree soldiers to die in hilarious ways by the ships own defenses) she decided to just stab the device with her knife, which somehow managed to open up the door Quill stood in front of. “Good job, Gamora!” Quill called.

            “Floor do it all by herself!” Floor said proudly.

            “…Wow, really? Great job, Floor,” Rocket complimented.

            The rabbit hummed happily to herself before turning back to Gamora and Nebula’s fight, watching as Gamora kicked her sister out the hole in the side of the ship. “Nebula!” Gamora called, holding out her hand as the cyborg barely held on. “Sister, help us fight Ronan. You know he’s crazy.”

            “I know you’re both crazy,” Nebula replied before cutting off her own hand, landing on a Ravager ship and commandeering it for her own use.

            “Bye blue lady!” Floor shouted. “Does Gamora think Floor see blue lady again?”

            “Knowing my sister, she’ll be back,” Gamora replied. “Let’s get to the others.” She picked up a fall guard’s blaster and fired a hole into the ceiling, Floor hopping on her back as the two jumped up and started fighting there way to where the others were. Soon enough the team were all gathered in the command room where Ronan awaited them, the Power Stone shining on his accuser hammer.

            “Quill, the Hadron Enforcer!” Lylla called, Star-Lord nodding as he lined up his shot and fired the weapon. The weapon hit Ronan dead on, creating a huge explosion that covered the room in smoke.

            “You did it!” Drax cheered.

            “Yes! Friends save galaxy from scary man!” Floor added.

            Lylla was about to compliment the team as well before she looked and saw Ronan still standing, the Power Stone protecting him from the attack. The accuser lifted his hammer and fired a concussive blast at the team, blowing them all back with sheer force. Drax was the first back on his feet, running at Ronan at full speed. The accuser simply held out his hand and caught the destroyer by the throat, however, holding Drax in the air as he choked him out.

            “I was mistaken. I do remember your family,” Ronan said. “Their screams… pitiful…”

            “Lylla, you guys better back up!” Rocket’s voice called over the coms.

            “Back up, what do you-?” Lylla questioned, before her eyes shrunk at the sight of a warbird being flow into the room, Rocket at the controls as he rammed right into Ronan. “Rocket…?” Lylla called out as dust settled around them.

            “I’ve got him!” Teefs called, climbing out of the destroyed warbird and pulling the unconscious raccoon from the wreckage.

            Lylla took hold of her mate’s had as Teefs sat him down. “Good, he’s still breathing normally,” she sighed in relief.

            “I don’t see Ronan anywhere…” Teefs said as he and Gamora dragged Drax’s body over to the rest of the team. “And I don’t believe this ship is going to be staying in the air much longer, either.”

            It was then that Groot did something unexpected, holding out his arms as he grew branch after branch from his entire body, creating a cocoon around the team like a protective bubble. Rocket soon woke up to see the sight, Lylla helping him stand as the cocoon was lit up by bioluminescent seeds. “What is this…?” Teefs wonder.

            “Groot protect friends?” Floor guested.

            Rocket looked to his friend with worry. “No, Groot. You can’t. You’ll die,” the raccoon said.

            “Why are you doing this?” Lylla asked, tears coming to her eyes.

            Groot gave a sad smile, reaching out a branch to wipe the tears from his friend’s eyes. “We… are… Groot,” he said as the world around them faded to white.

            Lylla groaned as she regained consciousness, idly noticing that she was still alive and that they had crashed into Xandar. The smoldering ruins of The Dark Aster were strewn about as she sat up, seeing that the rest of the team were okay… save for Groot being nowhere to be see. “Rocket? Floor? Teefs?” she called out.

            “Floor is… okay…” Floor called, the rabbit hobbling a bit on an obviously damaged leg. The crash had rendered her extra limbs usless, leaving Floor with only her bare paws and only one bionic leg to stand on.

            “I’m fine as well…” Teefs shouted, the walrus pushing debris off himself as he dragged himself across the ground, his wheels having taken damage from the crash as well.

            Lylla stood up, checking her person to find that her staff had been broken in two, the inner workings of it sparking. “Great…” she muttered, before looking around to find where Rocket was. The raccoon was on his knees, holding fragments of Groot’s remains in his paws.

            “I called him an idiot…” Rocket muttered to himself.

            Lylla knelt next to him and gave him a hug. “Groot saved us… He’s a hero…”

            Movement behind them got the two to turn around to see Ronan walking out of the wreck, the Power Stone still shining on his hammer. “You killed Groot!” Rocket shouted, running at Ronan in a rage, only to get blasted back by the Power Stone. Lylla stood her ground and threw the remnants of her staff at the accuser, but Ronan blasted her away as well, sending the otter spiraling into Teefs.

            “Behold: your guardians of the galaxy,” Ronan said, mockingly gesturing to the team. “What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father and his father shall finally know vengeance…”

            Rocket looked around and scrambled over to some broken tech parts, fiddling with him as his mind raced to come up with a plan. Ronan continued, “People of Xandar, the time has come to rejoice and renounce your poultry gods! Your salvation is at hand.”

            Ronan raised his hammer, the Power Stone charging up power… but then out of nowhere, Quill started singing of all things. “Oh, child… things are gonna get easier… Oh, child, things’ll get brighter… Listen to these words.”

            “What is he doing?” Teefs whispered.

            “He’s singing!” Floor giggled.

            “No…” Lylla looked over to see Rocket and Drax working on something. “He’s distracting him…!”

            “Oh, child… things are gonna get easier… Oh, child, things’ll get brighter- Now bring it down hard!” Quill started dancing as he sang the words. “Someday! We’ll put it together and we’ll get it undone!”

            “What are you doing?” Ronan questioned.

            “Dance off, bro. Me and you,” Quill replied as he rolled his hips to the song. He did a few moves before holding out a hand to Gamora. “Gamora….” She just shook her head in disbelief. “Subtle. Take it back.”

            “Oh, pick me, pick me!” Floor called as Quill pointed at her. The rabbit hopped a bit on her one good leg, singing along with the song. “Someday! We’ll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun! Friend Lylla, you go next!”

            “Uh…” Lylla awkwardly shuffled and waved her hands in the air. “Someday, when the world is much brighter…” Teefs hummed along and flapped his flippers a bit before passing it back to Quill.

            “What are you doing?” Ronan repeated.

            “I’m distracting you, ya big turd blossom,” Quill answered.

            Ronan turned around to see Drax holding the hastily put back together Hadron Enforcer, Rocket splicing two wires together to fire the weapon into Ronan’s hammer. The world seemed to go in slow motion as Quill jumped for the Power Stone, Gamora shouting “No!” as his hands clasped around it, sending out a wave of power as dust whipped up around them.

            “Is he crazy!?! No mortal can hold an infinity stone like that!” Teefs exclaimed.

            “We have to… help him…!” Lylla shouted over the storm as she slowly made her way over to Quill. The human was screaming out in pain as he held the Power Stone, his body slowly coming undone by its raw power.

            “Peter! Grab my hand!” Gamora shouted to him.

            “Mom…” Quill whispered.

            “Take my hand!” Gamora repeated… and Quill took it, the Power Stone creating a connection between the two of them. Drax walked through the storm and put a hand on Quill’s shoulder, taking on some of the power while Floor took Gamora’s hand, sharing the burden as Teefs held her body with his flipper. Rocket reached out and held Drax’s finger, Groot’s branch still in his hand as Lylla held onto it, connecting all of them together.

            The team hadn’t known each other for very long, but all of them knew the stakes at hand. Even if the Power Stone destroyed them here, they couldn’t let Ronan have it or let Xandar be destroyed, either. Groot gave his life to save them, so it was only fair that they gave theirs to save the galaxy. As they stood together, the power stopped hurting, becoming more controlled as Lylla felt the new bond they shared.

            “Your mortal! How?” Ronan questioned as he looked at the team.

            “You said it yourself, bitch. We’re the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Quill retorted, opening his hand as Ronan tried to attack them, using the Power Stone to wipe out the accuser in one blow. Once Ronan was gone, Gamora grabbed the Orb and slammed it over the Infinity Stone, safely containing its power once more. They had done it. The Guardians of the Galaxy had saved Xandar!

Chapter Text

            “When the universe was in the brink of annihilation, Rocket and his friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy, did the impossible and wielded the Power Stone against Ronan as a team. While the day had been saved, it was only the beginning of the team’s adventures…”

            “Does anyone else feel… tingly after doing that?” Teefs asked, his whiskers bristling from residual Infinity Stone energy.

            “Floor tired…” Floor replied, hopping onto Teefs’ back and immediately passing out.

            “I’ll make sure we all get a deep tissue scan to be certain that we didn’t contract any adverse effects from prolonged exposure,” Lylla said.

            Rocket was still in shock at the fact that they had even beat Ronan in the first place, but those thoughts were pushed to the side as the sound of clapping came to his ears. “Well, well, well… Quite the light show. Ain’t this sweet,” Yondu said as he and his Ravagers approached the team. “But you got some business to attend to before all the hookie-nookie starts.”

            “The what?” Teefs questioned.

            “The deal we made, remember? Yondu helps us, and he gets the Stone,” Rocket recalled.

            Gamora looked to Quill. “Peter, you can’t. Peter.”

            “You gotta reconsider this, Yondu. I don’t know who you’re selling this to, but the only way the universe can survive is if you give it to the Nova Corps,” Quill said.

            “I may be as pretty as an angel, but I sure as hell ain’t one,” Yondu replied, pushing back his jacket to reveal his weapon of choice: a Yaka Arrow.

            “Holy crap, he’s got a Yaka Arrow?” Rocket whispered. “Those things are crazy dangerous and take a lot of skill to use… I’ll admit it, I’m impressed.”

            Yondu held out his hand. “Hand it over, son.”

            Quill pulled out the Orb, looking over to Gamora for a moment before giving it to Yondu. The Ravager smirked as he gave a hand gesture, motioning for his men to move out and leave. “Hey Yondu,” Quill called, making Yondu turn and look back. “Do not open the Orb. You know that, right? You’ve seen what it does to people.”

            Yondu just gave a point and a smile before leaving for his ship, the rest of the Ravagers following suit. Lylla just stared up at the treating fleet before looking to Quill. “We are going after him, right? We can’t just let an Infinity Stone be in the hands of a space pirate, right!?!”

            Quill shook his head before pulling out a second Orb. “He is gonna be so pissed when he realizes I switched the Orb on him,” he said.

            “He was gonna kill you, Peter,” Gamora pointed out.

            “Oh, I know. But he was about the only family I had,” Quill replied.

            Gamora put a hand over his. “No. He wasn’t.”

            After everything that had happened, Rocket finally had a second to process all that had gone down… and it broke him. The raccoon looked at the stick still held in his hands, the last remaining piece of Groot, and it made Rocket feel a pain he’d always feared of. There were nights when Rocket would have nightmares of being back in his cell on Counter Earth, visions of what ifs where he failed to save his friends and he was left all alone.

            “Groot…” Rocket said in a broken voice, falling to the floor and silently weeping for the loss of his friend. He made a promise to keep his team, his family, safe at all costs... and he had failed one of them. Who cared if Groot wasn’t part of Batch 89? He was still a friend, and Rocket couldn’t save him. ‘It should have been me…’ he thought.

            “Oh, Rocky…” Lylla whispered, sitting down next to Rocket and hugging him around his midsection, her head nuzzling into his neck. Teefs silently sat down and comforted his friend as well. Drax joined them as well, the warrior reaching out and giving gentle pets to Rocket. The raccoon bristled a bit but allowed for Drax to continue petting him. Even if he had lost one friend, Rocket was glad that the others were still here for him.

            Nova Corps soon came to pick the team up, during which they were able to fully explain what had happened on the Dark Aster and everything involving the Power Stone. The Nova also told Quill some surprising news: his DNA was not that of a full-blooded human, but in-fact half of some unknown being of great power. That was why he was able to hold the Infinity Stone for so long and share the power with his friends.

            “On behalf of the Nova Corps we’d like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar,” Nova Prime. “If you follow Denarian Dey, he has something to show you.”

            “Thank you, Nova Prime,” Quill said.

            “Yes, thank you, Ms. Prime,” Teefs added.

            “Bye, Nova Lady!” Floor called as she waved goodbye.

            Lylla looked over to Rocket as they walked, the raccoon holding a pot that contained the Groot stick. “Are you okay, Rocket?” she asked.

            He nodded. “Yeah, I just… gotta hope this works, right? I mean, he was a flora colossus, so maybe they can grow back?”

            “We just have to believe,” Lylla said.

            Gamora looked to Drax. “Your wife and child shall rest well knowing that you have avenged them,” she said.

            “Yes. Of course, Ronan was only a puppet. It’s really Thanos I need to kill,” Drax replied.

            “Hm… We may need to make better gadgets if we are to take on the so-called “Mad Titan”,” Teefs hummed.

            “Floor stab Thanos- with knife!” Floor exclaimed, holding up her weapon.

            “Please don’t brandish your weapon in the Nova HQ, Floor,” Lylla sighed.

            As the team followed Dey outside, they were surprised to see the Milano waiting for them. “We tried to keep it as close to the original as possible. We salvaged as much as we could,” Dey explained.

            “Wow. I… Thank you,” Quill replied.

            “I have a family. They’re alive because of you,” Dey said. “Your criminal records have also been expunged. However, I have to warn you against breaking any laws in the future.”

            Rocket held up a hand. “Question: What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?”

            “You will be arrested,” Dey replied.

            “But what I want it more than the person who has it?” Rocket pushed, a chuckle coming to his voice.

            “It’s still illegal,” Dey insisted.

            “It was worth a shot, Rocket,” Lylla giggled.

            “Friend Rocket master of jokes,” Floor laughed.

            “What if someone does something irksome and I decide to remove his spine?” Drax asked.

            “That’s… That’s actually murder,” Dey replied. “It’s one of the worst crimes of all. So… also illegal.”

            “They’ll be fine, Dey. I’ll keep an eye on ‘em,” Quill said.

            “You?” Dey questioned.

            “Yeah. Me,” Quill nodded. With that the team got onto the Milano, exploring the ship and quickly carving out their own spaces. Rocket found the perfect spot to put his tools and work on his inventions, which was situated perfectly near where Lylla was setting up a small med bay for the team to use. Floor crawled around the innards of the ship to explore every nook and cranny, while Teefs sat at the main table in the middle of the ship, already drawing up new ideas for his crafts.

            Music suddenly filled the ship, catching Rocket’s ears as an R&B tune started playing. “Huh, I recognize this one,” he muttered.

            “Friend Rocket!” Floor exclaimed, suddenly popping out of a loose ceiling panel.

            “Floor! What are you doing up there?” Rocket asked.

            “Exploring. Friend Quill want all at front for flying into the sky!” Floor informed him before popping back into the ceiling.

            “I’ll fix that later!” Teefs said as he rolled on by with Lylla in tow.

            Rocket shook his head and chuckled, grabbing Groot’s pot and making his way to the front of the ship. The cockpit was situated to have five chairs: two in front for the pilot and co-pilot, and three in the back for passengers. In addition, there were two fold-out seats behind that for others to sit in, and a spot for Teefs to park his wheels and lock in for whenever they needed to take off.

            Lylla and Floor took up one chair together as Drax sat in the back, Teefs locking himself in place as Quill took the pilot’s seat and Rocket took shotgun. As the raccoon strapped himself in he looked down at Groot’s pot and gasped as the stick started moving, giving a yawn as a new Groot was born into the world. “Hey there, little guy…” Rocket whispered with a smile, a stay tear coming off his face.

            “So, what should we do next?” Quill asked the team. “Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?”

            “We’ll follow your lead, Star-Lord,” Gamora replied.

            “Bit of both!” Quill exclaimed as he fired up the engines, the Guardians of the Galaxy blasting off into space for many more adventures to be had.

            As night fell over the Milano (well, as much as “night” can fall when you’re floating in the endlessness of space), Rocket made sure Groot was tucked into his pot before getting ready for bed. The raccoon slipped off his jumpsuit, locking the door to his room at the same time before hopping onto his bed. The room was clearly made for a larger species, but Rocket made it work, a bit glad he had so much room to himself… and a special someone.

            “Will Groot be okay by himself?” Lylla asked, the otter already bare of clothing herself.

            “Yeah. It’s not like he’ll just uproot himself any time soon,” Rocket replied, tossing the covers over the two of them.

            Lylla laid herself over his stomach. “…Are you okay? You know, after what happened to Groot?”

            Rocket let out a breath through his nose. “…I lost someone today, and I… I completely shut down, Lylla. Ronan would have destroyed all of us if Quill hadn’t distracted him.”

            “Don’t beat yourself up over Groot’s decision, Rocket. You would have done the same if it meant keeping all of us safe. It’s what friends do: we sacrifice and protect each other,” Lylla replied. She let her hand linger over one of his visible augments, metal meeting metal. “…Do you ever dream about… back then?”

            Rocket nodded. “Nightmares of being in his cages again. Trying to save you all, and watching as you all die one by one. Floor, Teefs… you. And all I can do is scream.”

            “I’ve had dreams like that… sometimes I feel a pain in my back before waking up, other times it’s you I see get killed. Losing the ones we love, I think, is a fear that everyone has,” Lylla said. “Drax probably dreams of his family, Quill of his family on Terra, Gamora of her sister… but that is part of living. If we focus on what we’ve lost, are we truly living? I’m sure Groot wouldn’t want you so focused on his death.”

            Rocket rolled over, looking away from her. “I just… I have to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Groot’s lucky he can grow back… even if he’s a baby now. Practically a new person.”

            “Then we can raise him right. Like having a kid of our own,” Lylla suggested.

            “Y-You… want to have kids?” Rocket asked, turning back to face the otter.

            Lylla smiled. “It’s been a thought of mine ever since you said you loved me. I’ve seen other lovers with kids and… it would be nice to have one of our own someday.”

            “Are we even… compatible, like that?” Rocket questioned, heat coming to his muzzle.

            Lylla gave a sultry look and positioned herself over his chest again. “Biologically, no… but when have we let an impossibility like that stop us before? Ever since we all held that Infinity Stone, I’ve felt more… connected to you than ever before. I want to be more than lovers with you, Rocky.”

            “Th-Then what do you want to be?” Rocket asked, his hands wandering to Lylla’s waist.

            “In my medical research, I’ve learned that animals consider their life partners as “mates” in the scientific community,” Lylla said.

            “Mates… I’d love to be your mate, Lady,” Rocket said.

            “Lady?” Lylla giggled.

            Rocket smirked. “You’re calling me Rocky now. I think I deserve to give you an endearing nickname. Now then, about this being mates stuff…”

            The raccoon gave his mate a kiss, Lylla closing her eyes as she leaned into it… until a floor panel in the room was suddenly pushed aside, revealing a certain rabbit popping her head out. “Hello Friend Rocket, Friend Lylla!” Floor said.

            Rocket and Lylla both froze, Rocket pulling the covers over them tighter. “Floor! What the flark are you doing in here!?!” he exclaimed.

            “Floor in Floor! Finding more hiding places,” Floor said. “…Friends hugging in bed? Floor want to join in!”

            “NO!” Rocket and Lylla shouted together.

            “Smaller mammal, please leave the two rodents to their lovemaking!” Drax’s voice shouted from outside.

            “What the- Drax, were you listening to us!?!” Rocket exclaimed.

            “That’s not cool, dude!” Quill’s voice shouted.

            “It is nothing to be ashamed of, Peter Quill. My wife and I would have passionate lovemaking-” Drax replied.

            “TMI, dude!” Quill groaned. “Rocket, you better not make a mess in there.”

            “It’s my room, Star-Munch! We can do what we want!” Rocket retorted.

            “All of you go to bed!” Gamora shouted, banging on the wall. “Peter, you need to invest in thicker walls so I can actually sleep.”

            “Yes, it would help to keep noise out,” Teefs added.

            Lylla sighed and looked to Floor. “Please leave us be, Floor. It’s late and we all need to sleep.”

            “Okay then. Good night!” Floor said, putting the floor panel back into place as she left.

            Rocket groaned as he rolled over on his side. “Well, that killed the mood…”

            “We can find another time for that, Rocky,” Lylla said.

            “I can recommend some good spots for such fornication,” Drax said.

            “GO TO BED, DRAX!” everyone shouted.

Chapter Text

            “The past always has a way of catching up to people. Sometimes it’s an unknown fact of their origin that hurtles into their life, and sometimes it’s a minor choice that causes catastrophe in when its consequence becomes clear. For Rocket and his friends, their escape from the High Evolutionary would take many years to haunt them, but he was a man that always wanted to keep his creations under his control, no matter what…”

One year before the formation of the Guardians of the Galaxy…

            “Sire?” a Recorder asked, standing nervously in the doorway to the High Evolutionary’s lab.

            The High Evolutionary held out his hand, pulling the Recorder towards him with his powers and clenching onto his face. “DID I NOT SAY I WASN’T TO BE DISTURBED!?!” he shouted in the Recorder’s face.

            “Y-Yes, Sire, but… I was to inform you of the progress of the Counter Earth project,” the Recorder replied. He looked over at the experiments his master was running, in particular the subject floating in suspended animation. “The population is developing as expected and… what are you working on now?”

            High Evolutionary let go of the Recorder’s face, dropping him to the ground. “Batch 89 escaped, a plan carried out by Subject 89P13. I overestimated its intelligence, which allowed it and the other subjects to escape. 89P13’s brain was a valuable asset to the Counter Earth project, but we were still able to continue as scheduled. However…”

            He spun around, throwing out his arms as the suspension tube behind him started to glow. The being held within the tank started seizing up, blood pouring out of their left eye as their body was subjected to electric shocks. “Subject 89P13 proved that their batch of specimens has its uses. While Project Counter Earth is monitored, we will begin terraforming another planet here in the Keystone Quadrant to populate with this new breed of what Batch 89 was. They will be stronger, smarter, and without any of the mechanical defects that Subject 89P13 and the others exhibited.”

            “So that’s why this new subject looks like…?” the Recorder asked, only to be lifted up by his master’s power.

            “HOWEVER! I still desire to have Subject 89P13’s brain for dissection and study. This new subject will be my key to retrieving what rightfully belongs to me,” the High Evolutionary explained. He placed a hand on the tube, his manic grin reflecting in the glass as the subject inside reached out their own hand. “You will retrieve Subject 89P13 for me, by any means necessary. That is your only purpose in life.”

            “A-And what of the rest of Batch 89?” the Recorder asked.

            High Evolutionary laughed. “They are all defects! They are expendable for my cause. Now, prepare a ship for Subject 95Y14 to start their mission. Their programming will be done soon.”

            The Recorder left in a hurry at that, while the High Evolutionary watched as the suspension tube was drained of its liquid, Subject 95Y14 hanging by wires before being dropped the floor as they detached. They looked up with their one functioning eye at their creator and spoke their first words.

            “….Hurts…”

The Present Time

Two months after the Battle of Xandar…

            In the planetary system of the Sovereign, the Guardians of the Galaxy were setting up shop on a power station platform. During that time Batch 89 had changed up their outfits, now being more uniform with each other and having additional armor padding for protection. Rocket wore an orange jumpsuit that left his arms and feet exposed, the Guardians of the Galaxy logo proudly displayed on his chest. Lylla wore a matching jumpsuit that was indigo in color, with Teefs’ being green and Floor’s being magenta.

            “Showtime, a-holes! It’ll be here any minute…” Quill said as his handheld device beeped.

            “Which will be its loss,” Gamora said, cocking her gun.

            “I thought Gamora’s weapon was sword?” Floor questioned, the rabbit clutching her own knife one of her spider-like limbs (Rocket had added more uses for her arms in the two months they’d been with the Guardians).

            “We’ve been hired to stop an interdimensional beast from feeding on those batteries, and I’m gonna stop it with a sword?” Gamora replied, eyeing the batteries.

            “I thought it was an unspoken rule that we all had our own signature weapons,” Teefs voiced. “You have swords, Mr. Star-Lord has guns, Rocket has bigger guns…”

            “We don’t need to go over everyone’s weapon, Teefs,” Lylla giggled. She unholstered her own laser pistol, doing a few point maneuvers before grinning.

            “I would’ve liked a heads-up on that beforehand…” Quill muttered.

            “I’m more concerned about Drax not wearing one of Rocket’s aero-rigs,” Lylla said, looking to their warrior teammate.

            “It hurts,” Drax answered.

            “Hurts? Where!?!” Floor gasped.

            Drax looked at the rabbit, looking away before replying, “…I have sensitive nipples.”

            Rocket laughed as he looked up from his tinkering. “My nipples hurt! Oh, goodness me!” he said mockingly.

            Drax frowned. “What about him? What’s he doing?”

            “I’m finishing this so we can listen to tunes while we work,” Rocket replied, gesturing to the jury-rigged stereo system he had hooked up.

            “How is that a priority?” Drax questioned.

            “Blame Quill! He’s the one who loves music so much,” Rocket defended himself.

            “No, I actually agree with Drax on this. That’s hardly important right now,” Quill said.

            “Yeah, well… I already set it up, so it’s too late to stop,” Rocket said, rolling his eyes.

            “You could be preparing in other ways, Rocky…” Lylla said.

            “Sure I can,” Rocket said, giving her a wink.

            “…No, I’m being serious. We don’t really need music for this,” Lylla said.

            Rocket winked again. “No, I understand that. You’re being very serious right now.”

            “I can clearly see you winking,” Drax pointed out.

            “Damnit. I’m using my left eye?” Rocket cursed. His attention was distracted when small aliens came running by, Groot chasing them and giving one a good punch. Rocket was glad that they had Groot back on the team, even if he was now even smaller than Floor with the mentality of a toddler.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “They were not looking at you funny,” Lylla said. She and Rocket had stepped up to be parents for this new baby version of Groot. Their attention was drawn away from Groot’s antics as a rift tore open the sky, a tentacle monster coming through the skyline right towards them! “…That’s intense.”

            “Time to get this job done…” Rocket muttered, cocking his gun and activating his aero-rig. As the team went into battle, Groot managed to connect the final wires of the stereo system, Star-Lord’s newest mix tape coming to life on the speakers.

Sun is shinin' in the sky

There ain't a cloud in sight

It's stopped rainin', everybody's in the play

And don't you know

It's a beautiful new day? Hey…

            As the Guardians battled against the monster (called an Abilisk), Groot was unaware of the danger the team was in, instead opting to goof around and dance to the music as explosions went on the background.

Runnin' down the avenue

See how the sun shines brightly in the city

On the streets where once was pity

Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey!

            The Abilisk managed to knock Quill back to the floor, the human pushing himself back up to his feet and firing at the monster before noticing Groot dancing around. “Groot-!” he shouted, only for a tentacle to come by and slam him away.

Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long (so long)

Where did we go wrong…?

            As Groot danced around, Drax tried his best to fight the monster, but one of the tentacles managed to wrap around his feet, repeatedly slamming the warrior into the floor near Groot. “I’ll get you out of their, Mr. Destroyer!” Teefs called, the walrus pulling out a laser cutter to attempt to amputate the tentacle.

Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long (so long)

Where did we go wrong…?

            “Groot! Get out of the way, or you’re going to get hurt!” Gamora shouted as she noticed him near her. Groot instead just gave an oblivious wave to his teammate. “…Hi,” he said before activating her aero-ring and getting back in the fight.

            As Groot went back to dancing, Floor was having the time of her life jumping around and avoiding the Abilisk’s tentacles. She may not have an aero-rig of her own, but her spider-like limbs and enhanced jumping capabilities gave her enough of an edge to keep up with the rest of the team. Her knife though was not as effective as Drax’s own weapons, but the rabbit did make for a good distraction for the rest of the team.

            Groot did stop dancing for a moment when Drax rolled up next to him, the tree-kid still nervous around the warrior’s presence. Drax started at Groot for a moment before getting off the floor and running back into battle.

Hey you with the pretty face

Welcome to the human race

A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there waitin'

And today is the day we've waited for!

            A bug soon flew by Groot, distracting him and chasing after the insect in an attempt to eat it.

Oh, Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why

You had to hide away for so long (so long)

Where did we go wrong…?

            “No! Spit it out! Spit it out!” Rocket exclaimed, flying over and slapping the back of Groot’s head to make him upchuck the bug. The raccoon rolled his eyes and picked up his gun. “Disgusting!” he muttered as he flew back into battle.

Hey there, Mr. Blue

We're so pleased to be with you

Look around, see what you do

Everybody smiles at you

            “Rocket, have you seen Groot?” Lylla asked, taking potshots at the Abilisk. She looked around to see Groot chasing after another small alien again, the otter using her robotic arms to try and grab him to no avail. “Please stay out of the way, Groot!” Lylla shouted after him.

Hey there, Mr. Blue

We're so pleased to be with you

Look around, see what you do

Everybody smiles at you

            Groot managed to wrangle one of the aliens, riding it around for a bit before he was flung off right back where the stereo system was set up. The tree-kid shrugged and went back to dancing along with the song as the battle continued behind him.

Mr. Blue, you did it right

But soon comes Mr. Night creepin' over

Now his-

            The music was suddenly cut off as Teefs was slammed down into the stereo. Groot let out a cry of despair, before climbing up onto the walrus and jumping on his back in anger. “Oops. Sorry about the radio, small Groot,” Teefs apologized as he righted himself, making sure Groot was safely held by his tool collar.

            “The beast’s hide is too thick to be pierced from the outside!” Drax stated. “I must piece through it from the inside.”

            “Huh!?!” Gamora exclaimed in shock before Drax let out a battle cry and ran right at the Abilisk. “No, no! Drax, wait a minute!”

            “Oh, Drax going to do internal knifing! Floor come too!” Floor exclaimed, hopping after her fellow Guardian.

            “Floor, no!” Lylla shouted, but it was too late as the rabbit and the destroyer jumped right into the beast’s maw.

            “What are they doing!?!” Quill exclaimed.

            “He said its skin is too thick to be pieced from the outside, so he-” Teefs started to explain.

            “That doesn’t make any sense!” Quill cut him off.

            “I tried telling him that!” Gamora shouted.

            “Skin is the same level of thickness from the inside as the outside!” Lylla said.

            “I realize that!” Gamora groaned. Inside the monster, Drax and Floor were going ham on the beast’s insides… to no effect, of course.

            “There is a cut on its neck,” Quill pointed out. “Rocket, get it to look up!”

            “On it!” Rocket replied, activating the minigun setting on his blaster to get the Abilisk’s attention. “Hey, you overgrown sea-monkey, up here!” Rocket and Quill did pull the monster’s attention skyward, but its heat breath managed to catch Rocket’s gun, making it unusable.

            Gamora readied her gun as she aimed for the neck cut, Teefs standing by as her spotter. “Ready, aim… fire!” he called… only for Gamora’s gun to make a jamming noise.

            “I didn’t even realize laser guns could jam…” Lylla muttered as Gamora tossed the gun aside and drew her sword. With a running leap Gamora managed to jab her sword into the wound, sliding all the way down its belly as the Abilisk cried out in pain before keeling over.

            Out of the wound slid Drax and Floor, the two of them covered in yellow goop. The warrior laughed as he held his knives up in victory. “Yes! The tiny rodent and I have single-handedly vanquished the beast!”

            “Yes! Victory for Floor!” Floor laughed in agreement. The rest of the team stared unamused at their teammates, with Groot even throwing a rock at Drax.

            “What?” Drax questioned.

            “Let’s all just get cleaned off and cool down,” Lylla suggested, the team moving over to one of the batteries to sit down and do so. She removed her own aero-rig and stored it away, the otter flexing her arms a bit in a stretch. Rocket had improved her own mechanical parts recently, the arms now having a cobalt sheen to them as they’d been reinforced with Nova Corps tech. “So, what can you tell us about our protective charge, Rocky?” she asked.

            “These are Anulax Batteries. They’re worth thousands of units apiece, which is why the Sovereign hired us to protect them,” Rocket explained, admiring one of the batteries. A part of him was tempted to take a few batteries for himself… but another part of him would rather not have an entire nation of gold people on his ass. “Do you think they’d let us have some of these? They could be useful.”

            “Hm… I have my doubts about that,” Teefs hummed.

            “It wouldn’t hurt to ask at least,” Lylla shrugged.

            “Be careful what you say around these folks. They’re easily offended,” Quill warned. “The cost of transgression is death.”

            “Thank you, Guardians, for putting your lives on the line,” the ruler of the Sovereign, Ayesha, said to the team as they stood in her throne room. “We could not risk the lives of our own Sovereign citizens. Every citizen is born exactly as designed by the community. Impeccable, but physically and mentally. We control the DNA of our progeny, germinating them in birthing pods.”

            Batch 89 looked at each other with unease. The Sovereign reminded them a bit too much of the High Evolutionary with Ayesha’s talk of being “impeccable” sounding like how their creator wanted to make everything “perfect.” Rocket and Lylla subtly held each other’s hands.

            “I guess I prefer to make people the old-fashioned way,” Quill replied to the queen’s speech.

            “Well, perhaps someday, you could give me a history lesson in the archaic ways of our ancestors,” Ayesha said. “…For academic purposes.”

            “I would be honored, yes,” Quill said. “In the name of research… I think that could be pretty, uh…” He looked over to see the glance Gamora shot him. “Repulsive. I’m not into that kind of casual…”

            “Oh please,” Gamora rolled her eyes, stepping forward to speak. “Your people promised something in exchange for our services. Bring it, and we shall gladly be on our way.”

            Ayesha lifted a finger, calling out two guards who dragged a cloaked figure between them. Forcing the figure to knee, they ripped the hood off to reveal the captive as Nebula. “Blue sister!” Floor cheered, running up and giving Nebula a hug. The cyborg just glared daggers at the rabbit.

            “…Family reunion. Yay…” Quill cheered nervously.

            “I understand she is your sister,” Ayesha said.

            “She’s worth no more to me than the bounty due for her on Xandar,” Gamora replied, picking up Nebula by the arm.

            “Our soldiers apprehended her attempting to steal the batteries,” Ayesha explained, standing up from her throne. “Do with her as you please.”

            “We thank you, High Priestess Ayesha,” Lylla said, giving a respectful bow.

            The queen turned her gaze back to Star-Lord. “What is your parentage, Mr. Quill?” she asked.

            “My mother is from Earth,” Quill answered.

            “And your father?” she pushed.

            “He ain’t from Missouri. That’s all I know,” Quill elaborated.

            “I see it within you. An unorthodox genealogy. A hybrid that seems particularly… reckless,” Ayesha said.

            “I haven’t been able to make heads or tails of it with my own studies,” Lylla said.

            “Of course a defect like you wouldn’t be able to understand such a hybrid,” Ayesha said dismissively.

            “Hey, don’t talk to my lady like that,” Rocket growled. “I’d heard the Sovereign were a bunch of conceited douchebags, but that comment was-”

            “Rocky!” Lylla said sternly. “Let us pick our battles wisely, yes?”

            Rocket calmed down, but crossed his arms and looked away. “…But those rumors weren’t true at all.” He gave a wink to Teefs, the walrus chuckling a bit before straightening up.

            “Thank you for having our time, High Priestess,” Teefs said, giving his own bow before the Guardians left with their prize.

            “Count yourself blessed they didn’t kill you,” Drax whispered to Rocket.

            “You’re telling me. I mean, what are they going to get me for, stealing batteries?” Rocket said sarcastically.

            Drax laughed at that, Floor laughing as well, while Lylla just raised an eyebrow. “Rocket, you didn’t actually steal any batteries, did you?” she asked.

            “What? No I didn’t! I’m not going to endanger all of our lives when Nebula’s bounty is going to bring it way more units than some batteries,” Rocket said. The raccoon then noticed something by the entrance to the hall and picked it up. “Oh, that’s where I left my bag of spare parts. I was wondering where I’d dropped it before.”

            “You should be careful where you leave your things, Rocket. You never know who might try to steal them,” Teefs said.

            “Please, on this planet, I’m more likely to get my stuff toss in an incinerator than stolen,” Rocket scoffed. “This is a good lesson for Groot, though. Remember to keep your stuff safe and secure, buddy!”

            “I am Groot!” Groot nodded from his perch on Lylla’s shoulder.

            As the team went to the Milano, however, someone else was watching from the distance. Their robotic left eye zoomed in on Rocket, eyeing his back as they smirked to themself. “And the little bugger has taken the bait,” they chuckled. “Now I just have to watch the fireworks, and Subject 89P13 will be all mine…”

Chapter Text

            “It is sometimes said that there is always a calm before the storm, and the Guardians of the Galaxy were about to fly into a new storm soon enough, sweeping them into a new adventure that would test if their bond as a team was strong enough to survive…”

            Rocket hummed along to “Lake Shore Drive” as he started up the Milano, a smile on his face as the engines roared to life. “All right, let’s get baldy to Xandar and collect that bounty!” he exclaimed.

            Floor and Groot looked out the back window of the ship with faces against the glass as the Sovereign home world became smaller as they ascended. Teefs hummed along with the song as well as he rearranged his tools, while Lylla watched Gamora adjust the handcuffs on Nebula to be more secure.

            “That stuff she was saying about my father… Who does she think she is?” Quill questioned.

            “I know you’re sensitive about that,” Gamora nodded.

            “I’m not sensitive about it. I just don’t know who he is,” Quill replied.

            “Yes, I’m very aware that you have parental abandonment issues, Peter Quill,” Lylla giggled. “Trust me, myself and Batch 89 have dealt with plenty of trauma due to our upbringing as well.”

            “Well, I don’t know if I have trauma about my dad…” Quill muttered. He turned back to Gamora and said, “…Sorry if it seemed like I was flirting with the High Priestess. I wasn’t.”

            “I don’t care if you were,” Gamora shrugged, walking out of the room with Nebula in tow.

            “Well, I feel like you do care. That’s why I’m apologizing. So, sorry!” Quill called after her.

            “Gamora is not the one for you, Quill,” Drax said, making Quill and Lylla jump as the warrior appeared out of nowhere.

            “Damn shadow…” Quill muttered.

            “There are two kinds of being in this universe: those who dance, and those who do not,” Drax explained. “I first met my beloved at a war rally.”

            “Oh, Drax backstory!” Lylla whispered excitedly, while Quill just sighed.

            “Everyone in the village flailed about, dancing. Except one woman. My Ovette,” Drax said. “I knew immediately she was the one for me. The most melodic song in the world could be playing. She wouldn’t even tap her foot. Wouldn’t move a muscle. One might assume she was dead.”

            “That does sound pretty hot,” Quill admitted.

            “It would make my nether regions engorge,” Drax said.

            Lylla let out a sound of disgust. “Too much information, Drax…”

            “I get it, Drax. I am a dancer, Gamora is not,” Quill said.

            Drax put a hand on his shoulder. “You just need to find a woman who is pathetic… like you.”

            While that conversation was happening, Teefs finished rearranging his tools and moved to another room of the ship, finding Gamora chaining up Nebula. The cyborg looked over at the walrus before noticing a bowl of food nearby. “I’m hungry. Hand me some of that yaro root,” Nebula demanded.

            “No. It’s not ripe yet…” Teefs shook his head.

            “And I hate you,” Gamora added.

            “You hate me? You left me there while you stole that stone for yourself,” Nebula rebutted. “And yet here you stand, a hero. I will be free of these shackles soon enough, and I will kill you. I swear.”

            Gamora shook her head. “No. You’re gonna live out the rest of your days in a prison on Xandar… wishing you could.”

            It was then that an alarm went off, calling the Guardians to gather in the cockpit area to see what the trouble was. “Odd. We have a Sovereign fleet approaching from the rear,” Teefs noted on the radar.

            “Why would they do that?” Gamora questioned.

            “Probably because Rocket stole some of their batteries,” Drax guessed.

            “No I did not! That was a joke, dude!” Rocket shouted.

            “Uh, Rocket? Why part bag glowing?” Floor asked, holding up his spare parts satchel.

            Quill took the bag and opened it up, revealing Anulax batteries inside. “Really, Rocket!?! What were you thinking!?!” he shouted.       

            Suddenly the Sovereign ships started firing on the Milano, forcing Quill and Rocket to take evasive action. “Quill, I swear I did not steal those batteries! I don’t even know how they got in there!” Rocket shouted.

            “That’s your defense?” Gamora questioned.

            “Come on, you all were with me the entire time! When would I have even had time to steal those!?!” Rocket defended himself.

            “I have to agree with Rocket, Peter. I was at his side then and he never stole any batteries,” Lylla voiced.

            “Of course you side with him, seeing as he’s your boyfriend,” Quill said sarcastically.

            “Hey, don’t be using that sarcastic tone with my lady! Leave her out of this!” Rocket shouted.

            “You do frequently rely on the female beast to defend you whenever something goes wrong that is your fault,” Drax stated.

            “Could we save the bickering until after we survive this massive space battle?” Gamora suggested.

            “More incoming!” Teefs announced.

            “Good! I want to kill some guys!” Rocket growled, venting his anger out on the enemy ships that came into range of the Milano’s line of fire.

            “You’re not killing anyone. All those ships are remotely piloted,” Gamora pointed out.

            The Guardians all braced themselves as they took a hit. “What’s the nearest inhabitable planet?” Quill asked.

            “It’s called Berhert,” Teefs announced, pulling up a map.

            “How many jumps?” Quill asked.

            “Only one, but the access point is 47 clicks away,” Teefs replied. “And we have to go through that quantum asteroid field.”

            “Quill, to make it through that, you’d have to be the greatest pilot in the universe,” Drax stated.

            Quill smirked. “Lucky for us…”

            “I am,” Rocket finished the thought, taking piloting controls for himself as they blasted into the field of randomly warping asteroid.

            “Yes! Go Rocket!” Floor cheered as the raccoon flew around the asteroids, leading the Sovereign ships to crash into both rocks and each other.

            Quill adjusted the controls, giving himself piloting access once more. “What are you doing!?!” Rocket questioned.

            “I’ve been flying this rig since I was 10 years old,” Quill stated.

            “I was cybernetically engineered to pilot a spacecraft,” Rocket said, taking controls back.

            “You were cybernetically engineered to be a douchebag!” Quill shot back, regaining controls.

            “You two need to stop and focus on getting us out of here!” Lylla shouted.

            “Preferably in on piece…” Teefs added.

            “Later on tonight, you’re going to be lying in your bed and there’s going to be something squishy in your pillow case. And you’re gonna be like “What’s this?” And it’s gonna be because I put a turd in there!” Rocket shouted.

            “You put your turd in my bed, I shave you,” Quill threatened.

            “Oh, it won’t be my turd. It’ll be Drax’s,” Rocket smirked.

            Drax laughed at that. “I have famously huge turds.”

            “We’re about to die, and this is what we’re discussing?” Gamora sighed.

            Quill and Rocket continued to fight over the controls until their luck ran out and the Milano ran into an asteroid, taking out the back of the ship and causing the suction of space to come in. Teefs locked his wheels into the floor of the ship and grabbed Floor with his mechanical limbs while Quill caught Groot and tossed him back to Drax for safety.

            “Activating cabin repressuring system!” Lylla shouted, pressing a button on her console to put up a barrier that blocked the suction of space.

            “Idiots!” Nebula shouted, having almost been sucked out into space.

            “Well, that’s what you get when Quill flies,” Rocket said smugly.

            Gamora growled and tossed one of Teefs’ wrenches at Rocket’s head. “We still have a Sovereign craft behind us.”

            “Our weapons are down! Twenty clicks to the jump!” Teefs announced.

            Drax handed Groot off to Lylla, the otter strapping the tree-kid into her seat as the warrior made his way down to the back entrance. The warrior kicked away a yaro root from Nebula’s grasp and hooked up a tow cable to his belt and slapped on one of Rocket’s newest inventions,  a portable emergency spacesuit.

            “15 clicks to the jump!” Teefs announced as the Milano took more damage.

            Drax grabbed a blaster from a rack of weapons and pressed the button for the repressurizing shields, letting himself fall out into space to act as a makeshift gunner.

            “10 clicks… 5 clicks!” Teefs shouted as Drax managed to shoot down the Sovereign ship on their tail… just as more ships descended on the Milano from all sides.

            “Son of a… They went around the field!” Quill cursed.

            Rocket looked back at his friends with fear in his eyes as they were shot from all sides. ‘Is this how we go out? Dying because I got set up…?’ he thought. But as all hope seemed lost, a blue light came out of nowhere and blew up all of the Sovereign craft in one attack!

            “One click!” Teefs called.

            “Who was that?” Rocket questioned.

            “Who cares? That’s the jump point! Go! Go!” Quill ordered.

            Lylla looked out the window and squinted in confusion as what looked to be a human waved from atop an egg-shaped ship. “It’s a guy,” she stated.

            The Milano managed to make it through the jump point, entering the atmosphere of Berhert. “Oh my god, he’s still out there?” Gamora gasped as she saw Drax still being dragged along by the tow cable behind the ship.

            “Good thing I installed a remote wench system!” Teefs shouted, pressing a button on his console that caused Drax to be reeled back into the Milano safely. “I knew that upgrade would come in handy…”

            “Everyone else, seatbelts on!” Quill shouted. “Prepare for a really bad landing!”

            “Look at this! Where’s the other half of our ship!?!” Gamora screamed. After crash landing on the planet, the Guardians were now gathered outside of the wreckage of the Milano, which was in no condition to fly them anywhere now.

            “My ship,” Quill corrected.

            “Either one of you could have flown us through that field if you had flown with what’s between your ears instead of what’s between your legs!” Gamora chided, walking off in a huff.

            “If what’s between my legs had a hand on it, I guarantee I could’ve landed the ship with it,” Quill stated.

            Lylla sighed. “Peter, we almost died because of your arrogance.”

            “More like because he stole the Anulax batteries!” Quill shouted.

            “Like I said before, I did not steal the batteries, Star-Munch,” Rocket growled. “And even if I did steal them, I would have done it because I wanted to!”

            “Dick,” Quill muttered.

            “I feel like we should be more concerned about the little man on his egg-shaped ship that saved us from the Sovereign,” Teefs said.

            “How little?” Drax asked.

            Lylla held her fingers close together. “He was about… this size?”

            A little, one-inch man saved us?” Gamora raised an eyebrow.

            “Well, if he closer I’m sure he would be larger,” Rocket shrugged.

            “That’s how eyesight works, you stupid raccoon,” Quill said.

            “I am not stupid!” Rocket growled, moving to try and bite Quill only for Lylla to hold him back. “I’m not going to let you insult my species like that, either!”

            “I’m sorry, that went too far. I meant trash panda,” Quill said.

            “…Is that a better name for Rocket’s species?” Teefs asked.

            “I dunno,” Drax shrugged.

            Quill smirked. “It’s worse. It’s so much worse.”

            “That’s it! Lylla, let me go so I can rearrange his face!” Rocket screamed.

            Nebula, currently being held by Drax, looked up in the sky to see an egg-shaped ship approaching. “Someone followed you through the jump point.” The Guardians all set aside their arguments to huddle up in a circle for defense. “Set me free, you’ll need my help.”

            “I am not a fool, Nebula,” Gamora replied.

            “You are a fool if your deprive yourself a hand in combat,” Nebula said.

            “You’ll attack me the moment I let you go,” Gamora said.

            “I won’t,” Nebula whispered.

            “You’d think an evil supervillain would learn how to properly lie,” Quill said.

            “I believe that’s the ship with the one-inch man,” Teefs mused.

            The ship landed in front of the Guardians, a door opening up to reveal two figures inside. One was an old man that looked to be human, while the other was a woman with antennae on her head and wearing green clothes. The old man smiled and said, “After all these years, I’ve found you.”

            “And who the hell are you?” Quill asked.

            “I figured my rugged good looks would make that obvious. My name is Ego… and I’m your dad, Peter,” the man introduced himself.

            Floor gasped and smiled. “Star-Lord’s Dad! More family reunions!”

            “Something tells me this is going to have a long story tied to it… Let’s at least make some sort of camp before night falls,” Lylla sighed, just about done with everything that had happened today.

            After getting a fire set up for the group to sit around, Ego told his story to the Guardians. “I had Yondu go and pick you up when your mother passed away. But instead of returning you, Yondu kept you. I have no clue as to why.”

            “Well, I’ll tell you why: because I was a skinny little kid who could squeeze into places adults couldn’t. It made it even easier for thieving,” Quill replied.

            “Just like Floor does! Kid Quill was like Floor is now!” Floor gasped.

            “But he was probably a helluva lot uglier than you,” Rocket snickered.

            “Well, I’ve been trying to track you down ever since,” Ego said.

            “I thought Yondu was your father?” Drax questioned.

            Quill raised an eyebrow. “What? We’ve been together this whole time and you thought Yondu was my actual blood relative?”

            “You look exactly alike,” Drax stated.

            “One’s blue!” Lylla exclaimed with a laugh.

            “…No, he’s not my father!” Quill sighed. “Yondu was the guy who abducted me, kicked the crap out of me so I could learn to fight, and kept me terror by threatening to eat me.”

            “Eat you!?!” Ego said in surprise.

            “Yeah,” Quill nodded.

            “Oh, that son of a bitch,” Ego cursed.

            “How’d you locate us now?” Gamora asked.

            “Well, even where I reside, out past what’s known we’ve heard tell about the man they call Star-Lord,” Ego explained. “What say we head out there now? You’re associates are welcome Even that triangle-faced monkey there and his companions. I promise you, it’s unlike any other place you’ve ever seen. And there, I can explain your very special heritage. Finally get to be the father I’ve always wanted to be.”

            Ego turned away. “Excuse me. I’ve got to take a wizz.”

            As soon as he left, the Guardians all shared looks of uncertainty with each other (other than Floor, who was oblivious to the strangeness of the situation). “I’m not buying it,” Quill voiced.

            “Let’s go take a walk,” Gamora suggested, leaving Batch 89 and Drax alone with the antenna lady.

            Lylla coughed as she looked towards Ego’s plus-one on this trip. “Hello there. I am Lylla, team medic of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Who are you?”

            “I am Mantis,” Ego’s aid answered, her face twisting into what appeared to be a smile.

            “What are you doing?” Drax questioned.

            “Smiling. I hear it is the thing to do to make people like you,” Mantis replied.

            “Not if you do it like that,” Drax muttered, going back to his soup.

            Mantis looked down. “Oh… I was raised alone on Ego’s planet. I do not understand the intricacies of social interaction.”

            “Then perhaps Floor can help you out, Ms. Mantis,” Teefs suggested. “She was created to be a therapy animal, so her presence and comfort may be able to help you adjust to being around so many new faces.”

            “Yes! Floor love meeting new faces!” Floor beamed, hopping up into Mantis’ lap.

            “Yes, Floor likes being pet, unlike the freaky beast there,” Drax said, pointing to Rocket who just gave the warrior a growl.

            Floor sighed contently as Mantis stroked her back, making the rabbit nuzzle into her lap. “Bug lady is warm, Friend Lylla,” Floor stated, rolling onto her back to let Mantis rub her tummy next.

            “And you’re just like a little puppy,” Mantis giggled, her antennae glowing a bit.

            “Woah, what are you doing to Floor there?” Rocket questioned.

            “I have powers that let me feel the emotions of others. Your friend here is very happy with my pets,” Mantis explained.

            “Empath powers… how rare and interesting,” Teefs said in wonder.

            Lylla voiced her interest in Mantis’ powers as well, while Rocket just grumbled to himself, staring angerly at his bag of spare parts. ‘I didn’t steal those batteries… I know I didn’t. Not that Quill is going to believe me…’ Rocket thought. ‘Clearly someone is trying to set me up, to get me to make a mistake and hurt my friends… Well, jokes on them. After this nonsense with Quill’s dad is over with, I’m taking my friends off into the forever sky and never looking back…’

Chapter Text

            “The sudden reappearance of Peter Quill’s father, Ego, brought much trepidation to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Was this someone they could trust? And would this mark the beginning of the end for the team as a whole…?”

            “You’re leaving me with these animals!?!” Nebula exclaimed when morning broke the next day. It was decided that Quill, Gamora, and Drax would go with Ego and Mantis back to his home planet while Batch 89 and Groot stayed behind to repair the Milano.

            Gamora rolled her eyes at her sister’s demeaning remarks and looked to Rocket as he used nano-spray to slowly fix the ship. “Shoot her if she does anything suspicious,” she said. “Or if you feel like it.”

            “Okay…” Rocket mumbled.

            “Floor will make sure blue sister is secured, Gamora!” Floor called, hopping in front of Nebula and brandishing her knife.

            Gamora smiled at the rabbit’s antics before looking to Groot, the tree kid looking down at his friends leaving. “Hey. It’ll just be a couple of days. We’ll be back before Rocket and Teefs have finished fixing the ship,” Gamora promised.

            “Are you sure you don’t want me coming along?” Lylla asked.

            “They’re going to need your medical expertise more than we will,” Gamora said.

            “What if the Sovereign come?” Drax asked.

            “Don’t worry. There’s no way for them to know that we’re here, “Quill assured him.

            “I’m uncertain about us parting ways,” Drax stated.

            “God, you’re like an old woman,” Quill groaned.

            “Because I’m wise?” Drax guessed.

            Gamora shook her head as she looked at all of Drax’s bags. “Why do you have so much luggage?”

            “I don’t want Groot playing with my things,” Drax answered.

            Rocket stopped his repairs to say one last thing to Quill. “I hope daddy isn’t as big of a dick as you are, orphan boy.”

            Quill looked shocked by the raccoon’s words. “What is your goal here? To get everybody to hate you? Because it’s working.”

            “I already had my crew before you guys, Quill! At least they trust me on my word!” Rocket said.

            As the other Guardians left in Ego’s ship, Lylla looked to Rocket with a sigh. “Are you going to keep being mad at Quill, Rocket? You two should just talk this out instead of yelling at each other.”

            “I’ll stay mad at Star-Munch until he apologizes for accusing me of stealing those batteries,” Rocket retorted.

            The otter huffed and crossed her arms. “Well then, if you’re going to stay like this I’ll be taking Groot for some basic learning exercises then. When you decide to stop being such a… such a…”

            “Asshole?” Nebula suggested.

            “Stubborn raccoon, then you can talk to me again,” Lylla said, shooting Nebula a dirty look before picking up Groot and walking away.

            “Oh, Lylla’s using that tone of voice,” Teefs noted. “I’ve heard her use it against our bounties before, but never against you, Rocket.”

            “She’ll get over it… She always does…” Rocket said, less so to Teefs and more so to himself.

[***]

            As night fell on the planet, Rocket continued his repair work, singing “Southern Lights” to himself as he went along. Unbeknownst to him or the rest of Batch 89, Yondu’s Ravagers were surrounding the Milano, having tracked the ship down in order to capture the Guardians at the request of the Sovereign. One of the Ravagers killed a nearby spider and started eating it as they closed in on the ship… only to stop when his foot pressed down on a hidden switch laid out on the ground.

            Instantly multiple boxes tied to nearby trees opened up, launching tranquilizer darts out that took out one entire squad of Ravagers. Lylla flinched as she heard the sound of gunfire from one of the dropped weapons, looking to the prerecording Rocket had set up within the ship. “Don’t worry, Groot. I’ll keep you safe in here while Rocket, Floor, and Teefs take care of the bad guys outside,” Lylla assured Groot as she held him close.

            Outside the ship, Rocket and Floor were up in the trees, distracting the Ravagers down below so they couldn’t see the obvious traps they were walking into. Once everyone was in position, Rocket pulled out a switch and activated it, causing a gravity mine to go off and launch an entire squad up into the air before coming crashing back down to earth. The raccoon laughed as he set off each mine one-by-one, watching with glee as the Ravagers were left in a heap on the floor.

            “Oh, let Floor go next!” Floor giggled, hopping off to another squad of Ravagers. The rabbit jumped down on one of their backs and slapped a device Rocket had made onto his face, before quickly hopping between each Ravager and doing the same. With the press of a switch Floor activated the taser tags, shocking the squad into unconsciousness.

            “Great job, Floor!” Rocket praised, jumping down and giving his friend a high five.

            Their victory was short-lived, however, as another group of Ravagers came out of the bushes to surround them. “Ain’t so tough now without all your toys, are you?” one of the Ravagers said.

            Rocket just smirked. “Have you ever wondered what getting hit by two tons on wheels feels like?” he asked.

            “…What?” the Ravager questioned, before screaming in terror as Teefs came out of nowhere and bowled him over, the walrus spinning on a dime and pulling out his plasma cannon to take down the other Ravager with the blaster as well.

            “And that’s how the walrus rolls,” Teefs said.

            “Yes! We beat them all!” Floor cheered.

            “Now all we have to do is tie these guys up and we can-” Rocket said, before stopping himself as a whistle came to his ears and a Yaka arrow was sitting right between his eyes. “…Crap.”

            Yondu laughed as he came out of the woods with more Ravagers. “Hey there, rat,” he greeted.

            “How’s it going, you blue idiot?” Rocket sighed as the trio put their hands up in surrender.

            “Not so bad. We got ourselves a pretty good little gig here. This golden gal with quite a high opinion of herself has offered us a large sum to deliver you and your pals over to her because she wants to kill y’all,” Yondu explained, making the other Ravagers laugh.

            Back at the Milano, Lylla was still waiting with Groot and Nebula for the trio to return. “Your friends need help. There’s too many of them,” Nebula said.

            “Rocket can handle it. He always comes out on top in these situations,” Lylla stated.

            “If you care about him, you’ll let me help. They are going to kill him if you don’t!” Nebula argued.

            “And why should I trust you!?! You’re an assassin of Thanos and have tried to kill us before! How do I know you won’t just kill me if I set you free!?!” Lylla shouted.

            “My sister was also a daughter of Thanos and you trust her,” Nebula pointed out.

            “That’s different. Gamora has proven she can be trusted,” Lylla argued.

            “And the other Guardians don’t trust any of you while you stand by the rodent’s side,” Nebula retorted. “The small white one trusts me… Don’t you trust your friends?”

            As Lylla was contemplating what to do, Rocket and the others were being subjected to one of Yondu’s monologues. “I tell you, it was pretty easy to find you. I put a tracer on your ship back there during the war over Xandar.”

            “…Give me the word that you won’t hurt Groot or Lylla, and we’ll tell you where the batteries are,” Rocket bargained.

            Yondu chuckled. “Lucky for you, my word don’t mean squat. Otherwise, I’d actually hand you over.”

            “Otherwise you what?” one of the Ravagers questioned.

            “We’ll take them batteries. They’re worth what? A quarter mill on the open market?” Yondu asked.

            “That priestess offered us a million. A quarter is only one third of that!” the angry Ravager said.

            “A quarter is actually twenty-five percent of a whole,” Teefs corrected. “Or one fourth.”

            “You can’t even buy a pair of boots with twenty-five units…” a glasses-wearing Ravager said.

            “Enough!” Yondu shouted, shutting everyone one. “The point is, we ain’t stupid enough to help kill the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole dang Nova Corps would be on us.”

            “That ain’t right!” the second-in-command of the Ravagers, Kraglin, spoke up. “I just gotta say it this one time, Captain. No matter how many times Quill betrays you, you protect him like one of the rest of us much matter!”

            “Yeah!” the Ravagers agreed.

            “I’m the one that sticks up for you!” Kraglin shouted.

            “Take it easy, Kraglin…” one of the Ravagers warned.

            “Damn straight, lad,” the angry Ravager agreed. “He’s gone soft. Suppose it’s time for a change in leadership.” He raised his gun to Yondu, causing the other Ravagers to start taking sides between him and Yondu. Rocket, Floor, and Teefs just looked on in confusion as to what was going on here.

            “I feel as if I’ve seen this kind of disagreement play out recently…” Teefs whispered.

            “Shut up, Teefs,” Rocket muttered, standing up and throwing out his hands. “Woah, woah! There must be some kind of peaceful resolution to this, fellas. Or even a violet one where my crew and I are standing over there.”

            Just as tension was reaching its peak, a gunshot rang out and Yondu’s fin was blown clean off, the Ravager leader falling over to reveal Nebula, holding Lylla’s blaster. “Oh, Flark-” Rocket cursed before he, Floor, and Teefs were all swiftly knocked out by a stun blast.

            “Well hello, boys,” Nebula said before taking a bite from a yaro root… and then spitting it out quickly. “It’s not ripe.”

            “And who are you?” the angry Ravager asked.

            “Nebula, daughter of Thanos,” Nebula introduced herself. “I’ll let you take these three and the two other Guardians back on their ship in exchange for a favor we can discuss after we get off this planet.”

            “Well then, Ms. Nebula, I think we can make a deal out of that,” the angry Ravager grinned.

            With that the Ravagers loaded up Batch 89 and Yondu onto their ship as prisoners. While that was happening, another raccoon-like figure was watching from the trees, their robotic eye flickering as they processed the scene below. “Looks like I’ll have to change my plans to capture Subject 89P13… but perhaps these pirates can be of use to me,” Subject 95Y14 said with a grin as they slipped past the Ravagers and snuck aboard their ship.

[***]

            When Rocket came to, he found himself tied to a chair alongside the rest of Batch 89 and Yondu, with Groot held up in a cage above them. The Ravagers were throwing those still loyal to Yondu out the airlock, all being led by the angry Ravager from before.

            “This is… barbaric!” Lylla gasped.

            “Going out into space is fun… but they do not look like they are having fun,” Floor noted.

            “This is a perilous situation,” Teefs hummed.

            “And all because Nebula somehow broke out of her cuffs,” Rocket grumbled. He didn’t notice Lylla suddenly looking away from him in shame.

            “You’re the one what killed those men, by leading then down the wrong path. Because you’re weak,” the angry Ravager said before punch Yondu in the face. “And stupid!” He punched Yondu again. “It’s time for the Ravagers to rise once again to new glory with a new captain… Taserface!”

            Rocket couldn’t stop himself from laughing at that, the others joining in as well and making everyone else go quiet. “I’m sorry. Your name is… It’s Taserface?” the raccoon asked.

            “…That’s right,” Taserface nodded.

            “Do you shoot tasers out of your face?” Teefs questioned.

            “It’s metaphorical!” Taserface shouted.

            “Yeah!” the Ravagers cheered.

            “For what?” Lylla raised.

            “For… It is a name what strikes fear into the hearts of anyone what hears it,” Taserface explained, getting unsure grumbles from his crew.

            “Okay… Whatever you say,” Rocket said sarcastically.

            Taserface pulled out a knife. “You shut up. You’re next, then the rest of your furry friends.” He put the Knife to Yondu’s face. “Udonta, I have waited a long time to do…” Rocket started snickering. “What!?!”

            “I’m sorry. I am so sorry! I just keep imagining you waking up in the morning, sir, looking in the mirror and then in all seriousness saying to yourself, “You know what you be a really kickass name? Taserface!”” Rocket said, making the Ravagers snort and try to hold back their laughs. “That’s how I hear you in my head! What was your second choice? Scrotum hat?” That got everyone bursting with laughter.

            “Friend Rocket tells the best jokes!” Floor laughed.

            Taserface shoved the knife near Rocket’s face. “New plan. We’re killing you first.”

            Rocket smirked. “Well, dying is certainly better than having to live an entire life as a moronic shitbag who thinks Taserface is a cool name.”

            “Rocket, please don’t antagonize the man with knife… even if his name is Taserface,” Teefs chuckled.

            “I couldn’t agree more, Subject 89P13,” a voice with a Scottish accent said, before hopping down from the ceiling onto Taserface’s head. The Ravager screamed out as she tried to grab at his assailant, but it was too no avail as he stumbled around into the airlock room. The assailant then hopped off his face and pressed the hatch button, jettisoning Taserface to the same fate as the other loyal Ravagers.

            “Rocket! New friend look like you!” Floor gasped.

            “Impossible…” Lylla said with wide eyes.

            “That one of yer friends, rat?” one of the Ravagers asked, pointing their gun at Rocket.

            Rocket stared at the newcomer, as if looking at a cracked mirror version of himself. She was a raccoon just like Rocket, but her left eye had been replaced with a fully robotic one that constantly glowed an eerie red color. She wore an armored suit that was a dull orange color with metal bits on her joints, double barrel pistols strapped to her waist.

            “I’ve never seen her before in my life,” Rocket said. ‘And she shouldn’t exist either. The High Evolutionary already completed his machine, so why is there another one like me…?’

            “The name is Subject 95Y14,” the female raccoon introduced herself. “But you all can call me “Captain” now. I will be commandeering your vessel so that I can deliver Subject 89P13 to Sire.”

            “Now wait just a minute…” a Ravager spoke up. “What makes you think you can just come in and kill our captain and put yourself in charge?”

            “Because I can give you what you want: payment,” Subject 95Y14 replied. “You’re only looking to get a million from the Guardians of the Galaxy’s bounty? Sire can give you any amount of money for Subject 89P13 that you ask for… within reason, of course. And all you have to do is keep him alive until we arrive in the Keystone Quadrant.”

            “Oh no…” Rocket said, his ears falling as he realized who had sent this renegade raccoon her.

            “S-Sire found us…” Teefs whispered in fear.

            “Keystone Quadrant? Ain’t that the place where that High Evolutionary fella lives?” one of the Ravagers muttered.

            “This must be one of his bounty hunters. We can make it big time we got him paying for this rodent here!” another Ravager said.

            “And what about me?” Nebula asked, stepping out and confronting Subject 95Y14. “I had a deal with Taserface, and you just killed him.”

            “I’m sure we can give you whatever you wish for, daughter of Thanos,” Subject 95Y14 said.

            “I want new clothes, a new hand, and a ship, plus ten percent of the bounty on the Guardians,” Nebula stated her demands.

            Subject 95Y14 nodded. “Sure, sure. I can even throw in the bounty on Yondu Udonta for ya. He is wanted in at least twelve Kree star systems after all.” She snapped her fingers and pointed at Kraglin. “You there! Get this daughter of Thanos what she wants and give her the wire for when the payment is made. The rest of ya? Throw these two in the brig along with the rest of his defective friends!”

            “Yes captain ninety-five-Y… Uh…” Kraglin said before faltering. “Pardon me, ‘mam, but you sure got a mighty long name for us to memorize.”

            “Yeah, it’s quite a mouthful,” another Ravager agreed.

            “That’s because she’s an illegal experiment. Her “Sire” doesn’t give us names,” Rocket said.

            “We named ourselves,” Lylla added.

            “Names are unnecessary… but I do like the sound of captain. You may refer to me as that,” Subject 95Y14 said.

            “Aye, aye, captain!” the Ravagers cheered.

            As Yondu was dragged off to the brig, Subject 95Y14 hopped onto Rocket’s chair and grinned. “You’ll be back home soon, Subject 89P13. Sire has been waiting a long time to get his hands on your mind.”

            “Screw him,” Rocket spat in her face.

            “How are you alive? I don’t remember another raccoon during our time in that place,” Lylla asked.

            “I would recall if Rocket had any siblings…” Teefs nodded.

            “I am part of the next generation of subjects made in your “lineage,” so to speak. Sire saw the potential that having soldiers on your ability could bring, so Batch 95 was created for his next big project,” Subject 95Y14 explained. “But I think I’ve said too much about that.”

            “Wait!” Floor called, getting the attention of the female raccoon. “Why are you being mean to us? We should be friends! You can sail the forever sky with us!”

            “Hah, as if I’d betray Sire with for your false words. He warned me about you trying to sway me,” Subject 95Y14 said.

            “What we have out here is better than whatever he can give you,” Teefs said seriously.

            “Yes! You can have a home, a purpose, a name of your own!” Lylla begged.

            Subject 95Y14 rolled her eyes. “Again with the name thing. I don’t need one! …Although, something Subject 89L06 said got me thinking…” She turned to her new crew, hopping onto Groot’s cage and laughing as Batch 89 was dragged away. “Listen up, Ravagers! You wanted a name to call me by, then you can have one! From this day forth, Captain Sale will be leading you to new and greater riches!”

            “To Captain Sale!” one of the Ravagers cheered.

            “Captain Sale!” the others cheered.

            “Well, at least she has a name to go by now…” Teefs shrugged nervously.

            Captain Sale grinned, looking down at Rocket and shouting, “By the way… thank you for taking care of those batteries for me, Subject 89P13!”

            Rocket gasped. “It was you! You set us up!” He screamed as he was taken down to the brig, dreading filling his being as he knew where this all was going. ‘Flark, flark, flark! The High Evolutionary made bounty hunters to come after me, and she even set me up with those batteries! She probably wanted to split up the team, get us alone so she could capture me… I can’t believe I’m thinking this, but I wish Quill was here to get us out of this mess right now…’

            “Rocket, will we be okay?” Floor asked.

            Rocket closed his eyes and hung his head. “I don’t know Floor… but what I do know is that we have to get off this ship before Sale. I’m not going to let the High Evolutionary get his hands on us… never again.”

            “Right. Whatever disagreements we had before, we’ll put them aside until we are back with the rest of the Guardians,” Lylla nodded. She looked over to Yondu and hummed. “And I think we may just have a new ally to help us get out as well…”

Chapter Text

            “Captured by one of their own kind and held captive on the Ravagers’ ship, Batch 89 were in dire straits. It would take all of their skills to find a way out and act as a test to see if their bonds were truly unbreakable.”

            Batch 89 were unceremoniously thrown into a holding cell alongside Yondu. “We’ll be delivering Yondu to the Kree in the morning, and the rest of ya to Sire by the afternoon,” Sale said smugly. “I’m sure he will be most pleased with me to have you back, 89P13.”

            “Sale, please don’t do this,” Lylla pleaded.

            “Yes, Sire is bad man. Very bad man!” Floor added.

            “I’m not going to be manipulated by your lies,” Sale frowned. “He told me you’d try to sway my faith in him.”

            “Let her go, guys. She’s clearly a lost cause,” Rocket spat. “And what’d you do with Groot?”

            “You mean this little guy?” Sale asked rhetorically, pointing to one of the Ravagers that held Groot in a cage. “I’ve taking a liking the little guy. Maybe I’ll keep him as my sidekick. You seem to have caused a lot of trouble with your group, so I’ll be taking the little one as my reward from Sire. You guys have a tailor here, right? Make the Groot a nice uniform!”

            “You bring Groot back here or I will make you pay for touching a twig on his head!” Lylla threatened, her motherly instincts kicking in.

            Sale ignored her and walked off with the Ravagers, leaving Batch 89 and Yondu alone. “I don’t mean any offense, Mr. Yondu, but your men are quite fickle when it comes to loyalty,” Teefs noted.

            Yondu sighed. “I was a Kree battle slave for twenty years when Stakar freed me. He offered me a place with the Ravagers. He said all I needed to do was adhere to the code. But I was young… and greedy, and stupid. Like you with stealing those batteries.”

            “That was actually Sale. She framed Rocket for that… but his attitude as of late sounds a lot like what you described,” Lylla said, crossing her arms and side-eyeing Rocket.

            “Me and Stakar and the other captains… we weren’t so different from you and your friends,” Yondu continued. “The only family I ever had. And when I broke the code… they exiled me. This is what I deserve.”

            “Slow down, drama queen. You might deserve this, but me and my crew don’t. We gotta get outta here,” Rocket said, looking around the cell for a way out.

            “Where’s Quill?” Yondu asked.

            “Star-Lord with space dad now!” Floor replied.

            “Ego?” Yondu asked.

            Teefs nodded. “Yes. Today has been filled with questionable names now that I think about it…” Yondu laughed a bit. “There’s a smile. Keep your chin up, Mr. Yondu, and Rocket will find a way to get us out of this.”

            “Why didn’t you deliver Quill to Ego like you promised?” Rocket asked.

            “He was skinny. Could fit into places we couldn’t. Good for thieving,” Yondu answered.

            “Uh-huh…” Lylla hummed, not believing that was the true answer.

            “I got an idea on how to get outta here. But we’re gonna need your little friend,” Yondu stated.

            Sale laughed as she watched the Ravagers crowd around Groot, the tree now wearing his own Ravager outfit while they chanted, “Mascot!” over and over. The raccoon was amazed at how smooth this was all going; she’d have Batch 89 batch to Sire in no time at all. Moving herself into Yondu’s former quarters, Sale pulled out a small communicator, activating it as a hologram of the High Evolutionary came up.

            “Subject 95Y14. Why are you calling me at this hour?” the High Evolutionary asked.

            “Sire, I have apprehended Subject 89P13 along with the rest of Batch 89. We are enroute to return to Counter-Earth in one rotation,” Sale replied.

            “Good. Very good, Subject 95Y14. Soon Subject 89P13’s brain will be back in my rightful possession,” the High Evolutionary grinned.

            “If I may ask, Sire, why do you need Subject 89P13’s brain so much? Aren’t you the smartest being in the universe?" Sale asked.

            The High evolutionary frowned. “That is not a question I need to answer, Subject 95Y14. 89P13’s brain is simply the next step in finalizing my latest project. Without it, I cannot finish what I started with Batch 95.”

            Sale flinched, reminded of one of her earliest memories of seeing other creatures like her floating in stasis tubes, along with the pain she felt when she first woke up, her cybernetic eye being forcefully shoved into her skull by those men in doctor’s uniforms. Sire was always talking about how Batch 95 “Would surpass what he started with Batch 89,” but Sale had never met the other subjects from batch she was a part of.

            “May I ask another question, Sire?” Sale said.

            “…You may,” the High Evolutionary said evenly.

            “I had some assistance in capturing Batch 89, a group of space pirates calling themselves the Ravagers,” Sale explained. “I promised them that you would pay them in exchange for their loyalty, and they seem like a good group to have around to help in your endeavors, so I was thinking I could-”

            “YOU EXPOSED YOURSELF TO OTHERS!?!” the High Evolutionary screamed, the hologram flickering as his rage was made known. Sale suddenly grunted in pain as the device attached to her heart squeezed, making it hard to breathe as her blood circulation was temporarily cut off. “I gave you explicit orders to not involve anyone in Subject 89P13’s capture, and you went against them!”

            “I-I-I’m sorry, Sire,” Sale gasped out, clutching at her chest as her master made her fall to her knees in pain. “It was just easier to have them assist than to chase Rocket-”

            “What did you call him?” the High Evolutionary said in a low voice.

            “89P13! His name is 89P13!” Sale shouted in panic, fully collapsing to the floor.

            “…Good. Remember your place, Subject 95Y14. You are my creation, so you must be perfect and do what I say. You don’t want to end up like 89P13, do you?” the High Evolutionary said with an unhinged smile. “We will have to deal with those Ravagers, but I can overlook this imperfection… this time. You have an impressive mind, 95Y14, but not as great as 89P13. Do not fail me, understand?”

            “Y-Yes, Sire,” Sale said, the hologram turning off as her heart device finally let up. The raccoon said up, hand going to her face as she felt a tear streak of blood coming from her cybernetic eye. She hated whenever her heart device was used against her, but Sire insisted that it was a necessary control measure after Batch 89 had escaped.

            …There was a knock on the door, and Sale turned to see one of the Ravagers, Kraglin, standing there. “Uh, I don’t mean to intrude, Captain Sale, but was that your boss just now?”

            “None of your business,” Sale said, wiping the blood from her eye. Kraglin held out a rag to her, Sale flinching at the motion before realizing what it was and taking it to get the blood out of her fur. “…Thank you… I didn’t get your name.”

            “Kraglin. Used to be one of the old boss’ best men,” Kraglin introduced himself. “You boss, though, he didn’t sound like a particularly nice guy. I mean, Yondu isn’t the nicest either, but he at least treated most of us well.”

            “Not well enough if they turned on him so easily,” Sale scoffed. “Sire is the most perfect being in the universe. His kindness knows no bounds, and he will bring that perfection to the rest of the galaxy with his creations.”

            “Yeah, uh, that doesn’t sound as “nice” as you think it does,” Kraglin said nervously.

            “You think your former captain is better than Sire?” Sale questioned. “Tell me, what does Yondu have over him? Can you prove how “nice” Yondu is?”

            Kraglin shuffled nervously. “Well, I can’t really say off the top of my head-”

            “Hah! Then I am correct in saying that Sire is better!” Sale laughed.

            “But I can say that even when one of us Ravagers messes up, Yondu would at least hear us out unless we got another one of us killed,” Kraglin finished his thought. “He could be mean, sure, but I thought of this crew like my family… until we started turning on each other, that is.”

            “Family… What is “family”?” Sale asked.

            “Normally it’s the people that you’re related to by blood or birth, but sometimes it’s the people you choose to stick around with, even if they can drive you crazy half the time,” Kraglin explained. “They always have each other’s back. Those other critters you got locked up are kinda like a family.”

            Sale hummed. “So then, if Sire created me, would that make him my family?”

            “Well, just cause he created you doesn’t mean he’s family,” Kraglin said. “My parents weren’t the nicest folks- that’s part of way I joined Yondu and his crew of Ravagers. Family is supposed to look out for one another, ya know?”

            Sale thought about what Kraglin was saying. ‘Sire is my creator. I owe my life to him… but what do I want to do after I turn in Subject 89P13? I’ve never seen anyone else like me before seeing him…’ She shook her head out of her spiraling thoughts. “I-I need time to think. You can leave, Kraglin.”

            “See you in the morning, Captain Sale,” Kraglin said, leaving the raccoon alone in the room.

            “…I like the sound of being a captain…” Sale muttered to herself, curling up on the bed and closing her eyes as her dreams took her back to the tube, the floating, and the pain of her creation.

            Back with Rocket and friends, their plan was finally able to be put into action when they saw Groot walking by. “Groot, over here!” Lylla called.

            “Aw man… what did they do to you?” Rocket asked, smelling the alcohol the Ravagers had drenched Groot in.

            “Hey, you wanna help us get outta here?” Yondu asked. Groot nodded. “There’s stuff I need you to get and bring back to me. In the captain’s quarters, there’s a prototype fin… the thing I wore on my head. There’s a drawer next to the bunk. It’s in that. It’s red. You got it?”

            Groot nodded and ran off to get the fin. “I see. If you have your fin back, you can use your arrow to get us out of here!” Teefs realized.

            “Let’s just hope Groot can find the thing. He’s only, what, two months old?” Rocket said.

            “He grows fast for a tree,” Yondu mused. Soon Groot came back, holding a pair of white underpants. “That’s my underwears.”

            Rocket face palmed. “Yeah, I was pretty sure he didn’t know what you were talking about. You have to explain it more carefully.”

            “It’s a prototype fin,” Yondu said slowly.

            When Groot came back this time, he was holding a struggling creature that the tree had managed to wrangle. “That’s an orloni. We’re looking for a fin, Groot,” Lylla said gently.

            “It’s like my flipper, but for your head,” Teefs said, holding up his arm.

            “Let Floor explain! Floor can talk on Friend Groot’s level!” Floor said.

            Rocket shrugged. “Worth a shot.”

            When Groot came back for a third time, he was holding a cybernetic eyeball. “That’s Vorker’s eye,” Yondu recognized. “He takes it out when he sleeps. Go. Look again.”

            “But leave the eye here,” Rocket ordered.

            Yondu gave the raccoon a funny look. “Why?”

            “He’s gonna wake up tomorrow, and he’s not gonna know, where his eye is!” Rocket laughed, the other Batch 89 members giggling as well.

            The rest of what Groot brought back continued to be unhelpful to the team. “That’s a desk. It’s about this big, Groot,” Lylla sighed, holding up her hands to approximate the size. When Groot brought back a severed toe, everyone cringed at the sight. “Please tell me you have a refrigeration device on this ship that has spare organs in it…” the otter groaned, thinking about how much of a nightmare it would be to reattach the toe.

            Yondu shook his head, making Rocket suck in his breath. “All in favor of never discussing this again.”

            “Agreed,” Teefs nodded.

            “Floor has new traumatic image burned into her mind!” Floor said happily.

            Having enough of these shenanigans, Yondu pulled off his Ravager badge and held it up. “The drawer you want to open has this symbol on it. Okay?” he handed the badge over to Groot for reference. Groot looked blankly at Yondu and put the badge on his head. “What!?! No!”

            “Not hat, Groot, symbol!” Floor groaned, even her positivity starting to wane as they were getting nowhere with their plan.

            “That’s not what I said!” Yondu exclaimed.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “He’s relieved you don’t want him to,” Rocket translated.

            “Well, he does hate hats,” Lylla recalled. “On anyone, actually, not just himself.”

            “One minute you think someone has a weird-shaped head, the next minute it’s just because you realize part of that head is a hat,” Teefs said.

            “Wait, that’s why he doesn’t like hats?” Rocket said in surprise.

            “This is an important conversation right now?” Yondu questioned.

            Groot then went off to go get the fin, but the group was surprised when Kraglin came back, holding Groot and the fin. “I didn’t mean to do a mutiny,” Kraglin stated. “They killed all my friends.”

            Yondu looked to Kraglin. “…Get the third quadrant ready for release.”

            Kraglin gave his captain a salute. “Wait!” Lylla called before Kraglin could run off. “What about Sale?”

            “What about Sale? She’s working for the High Evolutionary? As soon as we get out of here, we can ditch her alongside the rest of these Ravager cronies,” Rocket said.

            “But Sale like Rocket Lylla Teefs Floor,” Floor said.

            “She is not like us. We know better than to trust Him,” Rocket argued.

            “Weren’t we all blind to the Sire’s ambitions back when we were in our cages?” Teefs asked. “Sale was created by Sire, yes, but she is as much a creature created for science and not for care as much as we were.”

            “She still believes she has to please Him. If we can just get her away from the High Evolutionary, I think we can free her, make her see reason,” Lylla offered.

            “I don’t like this…” Rocket said.

            “I took a chance on a scared kid once. Was a pain in the ass, but he turned out all right in the end,” Yondu voiced. “She did get rid of that Taserface fella that started this mutiny in the first place, so maybe I should be thanking her for weeding out which of my men are actually loyal to me… Sorry for your loss, Kraglin.”

            “At least I still have you, captain,” Kraglin said.

            Rocket sighed, clearly overruled on this matter. “Fine, we can take Sale with us. But if she betrays us, that’s on you guys, got it? And you-” He pointed at Kraglin. “You got any clones of Quill’s old music on the ship?”

            The next morning as the Ravagers were getting ready for another day of space piracy under their new captain, the ship’s intercom suddenly blared to life, with Jay and the Americans’ “Come a Little Bit Closer” starting to play. The guards stationed outside of Batch 89 and Yondu’s cell were suspicious of it was their doing and opened up the cell to see what was going on. What they found inside was Rocket finishing installing Yondu’s new, bigger control fin, Lylla twirling the yaka arrow as the fin turned on.

In a little café

Just the other side of the border…

            “Surprise!” Floor shouted as Yondu whistled, his arrow flying out of Lylla’s hands and straight through the hearts of the guards, killing them instantly.

She was a-sitting there a-givin' me

Looks that made my mouth water…

            Rocket picked up the guard’s blasters, using one to blast off the restraint the Ravagers had put on Teefs’ wheels before tossing the other one to Lylla. “Yondu and I will take care of the other Ravagers…”

            “While Floor and I grab Sale,” lylla nodded.

            “And I’ll grab the rest of our gear alongside Groot,” Teefs finished, Groot waving from the Walrus’ back.

So I started walking her way

She belonged to bad man, José

And I knew, yes I knew I should leave

When I heard her say, yeah…

            As the team all split up to do their tasks, Sale’s voice came over the intercom, “Attention, men! Yondu has somehow reacquired his primary weapon. You must apprehend him and the others, but leave Subject 89P13 alive- that’s the ringtail for those that don’t know!”

Come a little bit closer

You're my kind of man

So big and so strong

Come a little bit closer

I'm all alone

And the night is so long

            Lylla gave Rocket a hug before running off with Floor, the rabbit opening up a vent for the two to crawl through while Teefs rolled off with Groot. Rocket grinned as he and Yondu walked together, a group of Ravagers already charging their way.

So we started to dance

In my arms, she felt so inviting…

And I just couldn't resist

Just one little kiss, so exciting…

Then I heard the guitar player say

"Vamoos, José's on his way!"

And I knew, yes I knew I should run

But then I heard her say, yeah…

            The Ravagers all stopped in their tracks when Yondu whistled, his arrow flying through all of them swiftly. Rocket snickered a bit as each Ravager fell over one by one. “Geez man, you gotta let me have at least one shot on these traitors,” the raccoon said with a hint of sarcasm.

Come a little bit closer

You're my kind of man

So big and so strong

Come a little bit closer

I'm all alone

And the night is so long

            While Yondu continued his utter domination over their enemies, Floor and Lylla were crawling through the vents, the rabbit’s antenna buzzing as she tracked where Sale was on the ship through the intercom’s frequency. Floor stopped when they were above the captain’s quarters. “She’s down there,” Floor whispered.

            Lylla nodded, setting her confiscated blaster to stun as she opened up the vent.

Then the music stopped

When I looked the café was empty…

            “I should be hearing less screaming and more shooting!” Sale shouted into her mic. “How hard is it for a bunch of space pirates to take out five lifeforms!?!”

            “You’d be surprised how easy it is for us to overcome impossible odds,” Lylla quipped, dropping down and firing her blaster. Sale barely dodged out of the way and pulled out her own blaster, but Lylla quickly fired again and shot the weapon from the raccoon’s hands.

Then I heard José say

"Man, you know you're in trouble plenty"

            Sale smirked and pulled out a second blaster. “Never carry just one weapon,” she said, shooting Lylla’s weapon out of her hands.

            “And in my experience, it’s better to have friends than to work alone,” Lylla replied as Floor dropped from the ceiling behind Sale.

            “Sleep strike!” Floor shouted, startling Sale as she rapidly hit the raccoon’s nerve points, making her drop her weapon and fall over on the ground.

So I dropped my drink from my hand

And through the window, I ran

And as I rode away

I could hear her say to José, yeah…

            “I can’t move!” Sale said in a panic, trying to move her limbs but to no avail.

            “Rocket, we have Sale. Heading to the ship now,” Lylla said into her coms as she and Floor picked up the paralyzed raccoon.

            “You won’t get away with this!” Sale shouted.

            “But we did!” Floor giggled as they opened the door to find Teefs, the walrus picking up Sale with his reacquired collar while giving Floor and Lylla their stuff back.

            “Ladies,” Teefs nodded.

            “I am Groot!” Groot cheered, blowing a raspberry at Sale.

            “Groot! Language!” Lylla gasped.

Come a little bit closer

You're my kind of man

So big and so strong

Come a little bit closer

I'm all alone

And the night is so long

            Back with Yondu and Rocket, the two had made it up to the monitor room of the ship, Yondu using the multiple cameras to easily take out any Ravagers that were coming their way. Rocket used his blaster to fire through the doors and walls and any Ravagers Yondu missed, the raccoon laughing as he got to vent out his anger on their captors.

La-la-la-la la-la-la-la (Come a little bit closer)

La-la-la-la la-la-la-la (Come a little bit closer)

Woah woah (Come a little bit closer)

I can still hear her say (Come a little bit closer)

La-la-la-la la-la-la-la (Come a little bit closer)

            The fun ended when Yondu’s arrow pierced the engine, causing it to blow up in a fiery blaze. “You maniac. The whole ship’s gonna blow,” Rocket said in horror.

            Yondu shook his head. “Not the whole ship,” he said before whistling to reclaim his arrow. Rocket followed him to where Kraglin had readied their escape vessel, the rest of Batch 89 gathering there as well.

            “Future Friend Sale is with us!” Floor cheered as she pointed to the tied-up raccoon.

            “You think this will change anything? Sire will get you sooner or later,” Sale growled.

            “Yeah, I don’t think so,” Rocket shook his head. “Let’s get out of here before this whole flarking place blows up.”

            Kraglin pressed a button, detaching their quadrant of the ship and zooming off as the rest of the vessel blew up behind them. “Where to, Captain?” the loyal Ravager asked.

            “Ego,” Rocket replied, activating the jump coordinates.

            “Everyone, buckle up!” Lylla called as she fastened Sale into an empty seat before buckling herself next to Rocket.

            “Jump time!” Floor laughed as she and Teefs got into their own seats.

            “No, boy!” Yondu shouted as the ship lurched forward through a jump gate. “It ain’t healthy for a mammalian body to hop more than fifty jumps at a time.”

            “I know that!” Rocket shouted back.

            “We’re about to do 700!” Yondu exclaimed.

            “…Oh dear,” Teefs gulped as the ship started moving faster and faster.

            “How does Sire see you as a desirable mind to keep around!?!” Sale shouted before the world started to get weird and everyone started screaming.

Chapter Text

            “With their freedom from the Ravagers secured, Batch 89 set a course to reunite with their friends. But would the tension building in their group finally bubble over before they could-”

            The Watcher quirked an eyebrow as a distant screaming came to his ear. “What the hell is that…?” he wondered out loud before a jump portal opened up, Yondu’s ship hurdling out of it before zipping right past the Watcher and off into another portal. The Watcher blinked, before shaking his head. “That was… trippy. Now, where was I?”

            “You were just about to get to the third act!” said a man wearing an orange space suit sitting next to him.

            “Right, thank you for reminding me,” The Watcher replied to his informant. “Arriving quickly to Ego’s planet, Batch 89 would need to come clean about their own mistakes before they could rejoin their teammates…”

            Yondu’s ship finally came to a stop right outside of Ego’s atmosphere, everyone toppling over in their seats. Groot even threw up a little, right into Sale’s lap. “Lovely…” she growled.

            “What the hell you doing, boy?” Yondu questioned.

            “I could tell by how you talked about him this Ego is bad news,” Rocket replied. “We’re here to save Quill.”

            “For what, huh? For honor? For love?” Yondu asked.

            “What? No, I don’t care about those things! I wanna save Quill to prove that I’m better than him before I take my crew and leave his sorry ass behind!” Rocket shouted.

            The other members of Batch 89 gasped. “Rocket… leave Friend Quill Gamora Drax behind?” Floor asked.

            “We didn’t need them before, and we don’t need them now,” Rocket said. “I just don’t want his death weighing on my conscience is all.”

            “Is this about the batteries?” Teefs asked. “Rocket, we know now that it was Sale that stole them. If we just explain that to Mr. Star-Lord-”

            “Quill ain’t gonna listen to me,” Rocket interrupted. “I was going to take the Milano and leave him behind back there, get back into the mercenary business. Of course, then Nebula broke out and we all got captured, but that’s just a minor setback.”

            Lylla frowned, getting out of her seat and marching over to Rocket. “Well, if you’re going to continue being mad a Quill, then maybe you should leave me behind as well. Because… I was the one who let Nebula out of her cuffs.”

            “What!?! Why would you do that!?!” Rocket shouted.

            “Because I thought it was the right thing to do! That should would do the right thing and help us!” Lylla shouted back, baring her fangs in anger. “I know you’re scared, Rocket, but just as we finally found others that can be our friends, our family even, you want to run away as soon as they get mad at you. I don’t want to run anymore, Rocket! I want to live, to be free… and I can’t be free if you’re just going to keep me trapped on the run.”

            Lylla closed her eyes, tears starting to fall before she turned and walked away. “Lady… Lylla, wait…” Rocket called to her.

            “Floor agree with Friend Lylla. Rocket… not being good friend,” Floor said, following Lylla out of the room.

            Rocket looked to Teefs, the walrus sighing before turning his back on the raccoon. “We were all trapped by fear when we lived under Sire… I don’t want to keep being ruled by that fear anymore.”

            Rocket watched his friends leave in disbelief, before his attention turned to Yondu, the blue alien starting to laugh up a storm. “What, what’s so funny? You think me losing my friends is worth laughing at?”

            “You can fool yourself and everyone else, but you can’t fool me,” Yondu laughed. “I know who you are.”

            “You don’t know anything about me, loser,” Rocket retorted.

            Yondu whipped around. “I know everything about you. I know you play like you’re the meanest and the hardest, but actually, you’re the most scared of all.”

            “Shut up!” Rocket snarled.

            “I know you wanted to steal batteries you don’t need, and you push away anyone who’s willing to put up with you, because just a little bit of love, reminds you of how big and empty that hole inside you actually is.”

            “That’s not true! Lylla, and Floor, and Teefs, and Groot, they love me!”

            “Well you’re sure doing a mighty fine job at making ‘em hate you, boy… I know them scientists what made you, never gave a rat’s ass about you. Just like my own damn parents who sold me, their own little baby, into slavery. I know who you are, boy, because you’re me.”

            Rocket flinched as Yondu got up in his face. From her captive seat, Sale was cackling at the scene. “Good show, you two! Good show!” she laughed. “Sire said you were manipulative and cunning, Subject 89P13, but I didn’t know you were as pathetic as this pirate!”

            Rocket angerly tossed a lose bolt off the floor as Sale to get her to shut up. “You don’t think I know that? That I’ve had the High Evolutionary’s voice in my head all this time? Do you know what he did when I asked if me and my friends could join him on his perfect world? He laughed at me, right to my face, and said that me and my friends would be killed by the morning. I promised to myself after we escaped that I would never let anyone hurt us again after what he did…”

            The raccoon looked to the door his friends and left through. “…Flark I’ve messed up. I wanted to keep them safe, but all I’ve done is look out for myself… What kinda pair does that make us, Yondu?”

            “The kind that’s about to fight a planet, I reckon,” Yondu replied. “I’d make peace with your friends before we get down there.”

            “Yeah… Yeah, okay, sounds like a plan!” Rocket nodded, before pausing. “Wait, fight a what?”

            “Hey, I didn’t sign up for this!” Sale shouted, trying to get out of her seat.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “What did the little tree man say?” Sale asked.

            “He said you’re helping us, whether you like it or not. But in much more colorful language,” Rocket smirked. “We really need to watch what we say around you, Groot.” He turned to the door and raced to find where the others had gone. ‘Lylla, Floor, Teefs… I gotta make it up to them.’

            Lylla swung her staff around a few times before retracting it and sliding it back into the loop around her belt. She, Floor, and Teefs were getting prepared for whatever they were going to have to face on Ego’s planet, the rabbit spinning a knife around while Teefs checked his own weapons one last time. When Rocket came into the room, they only spared him a glance before turning away.

            “…I know you’re all mad at me,” Rocket said, looking to each of them. “And I know that I’ve really made you all hurt with what I said back there. And the one thing we all promised after we escaped Counter Earth was that we weren’t going to hurt each other… and I broke that promise.”

            Rocket reached into his pocket and pulling out the keycard he had made all that time ago. “I’ve always promised to keep you all safe, but I put my own feelings over you guys’ feelings, and that’s wrong. We’re a team, and as captain I have to weigh your feelings just as much as my own. I’m just… ever since we lost Groot, I… let my fear get the better of me. And then Quill started accusing me of stealing those batteries and… I didn’t want to get hurt again by trusting someone else.”

            “But I should be putting more faith in my friends!” Rocket shouted, tossing the keycard to the ground. “And I’ve been a really, really crappy friend the past few days to you guys, and to Quill and the others… So, I’m sorry for wanting to run away again. The Guardians of the Galaxy wouldn’t be the same without us all being together, and I still intend to keep you all safe no matter what… but I can’t do that if you all hate me. So… I’m sorry for all the shitty things I’ve done to make you mad at me, okay?”

            Rocket turned around after he finished his speech. Lylla, Floor, and Teefs all looked at each other before the otter stepped forward, picking up the keycard and taking it apart into its component parts. “You know, you spent a long time making this back on Counter Earth… It’s the reason we all escaped that day,” Lylla said. She took the parts and gave one to Floor and the other to Teefs. “It’s the symbol of our freedom, and you’ve been carrying that burden of keeping our freedom alive all by yourself…”

            “But we’ve grown stronger since back then, learned new skills and made new friends,” Teefs continued. “You do not need to hold the weight of our world on your shoulders anymore, Rocket.”

            “Yes! Friends help friends! And friends forgive when friends act mean!” Floor cheered.

            Lylla put a hand on Rocket’s shoulder, turning him around and placing the scanner chip into the raccoon’s palm. “Batch 89 is a fearless crew that explores the forever sky, looking for adventure and friends, but it’s nothing without a captain. And there’s no other captain for us but Rocket Raccoon.”

            Rocket smiled, wiping a tear from his eye as he hugged Lylla. “Thank you… So, you guys accept my apology?”

            Lylla smirked and slipped out of the hug. “Well… There is one thing you have to do first.”

            “Oh, that thing…” Teefs chuckled.

            “Apology song! Apology song!” Floor chanted.

            Rocket groaned. “Really? You guys are going to make me sing that song?” Lylla responded by pressing a button in the room, turning on the ship’s speakers as one of Quill’s songs started to play. “Oh geez… Fine, I’ll do it, but you have to sing with me too, Lady!”

            “I guess I need to apologize for letting Nebula free as well,” Lylla laughed, before she started shimmying to the beat, Rocket half-heartedly dancing as well as the words of the song came to his lips.

            “Walk out. Girl, don't you walk out, we've got things to say… Talked out, let's have it talked out. Things will be okay…” Rocket sang. “Girl, I don't want to fight… I'm a little bit wrong, and you're a little bit right…” Lylla smiled, taking Rocket’s hand as they danced together. “I said girl, you know that it's true… It's a little bit me… It's a little bit you, too!”

            Yondu watched from the doorway with a smirk. ‘Kid’s gonna turn out all right. Just like Quill did,’ He thought.

            After Rocket and Lylla finished their apology song, Batch 89 rejoined the rest of the rescue team on the bridge. “Wait, so Ego is the entire planet?” Lylla said in surprise. “How are we supposed to fight him then!?!”

            “That’s what I said! You lot are crazy!” Sale shouted.

            “Kraglin, make sure the psychotic raccoon doesn’t escape from that chair,” Rocket said. “As for how we fight Ego… well, maybe we’ll get lucky and we can just pick up the other Guardians and book it before he kills us all.”

            “It’s too bad the Hadron Enforcer was broken beyond repair after we fought Ronan…” Teefs sighed. “A planet-buster weapon would do the trick.”

            “Can we take bug lady with us? I like bug lady,” Floor asked.

            Rocket shrugged. “Sure, why not. Not like she’ll have anywhere else to go after we escape and/or kick Ego’s planet-sized butt.”

            “We’re heading down to the surface soon. Kraglin, you’re in charge of keeping this ship in one piece,” Yondu ordered as he, Groot, and Batch 89 loaded up into a smaller ship, Teefs turning on their communicator to get in touch with the other Guardians.

            “Teefs?” Gamora’s voice came though the coms.

            “Ms. Gamora! Keep your transmitter active. We have arrived and will be at your coordinates shortly,” Teefs said as everyone buckled up. “We’re using an old construction vehicle that Yondu used in a bank heist on A’askavaria.”

            “Ego’s unhinged,” Gamora said.

            “We know!” Batch 89 said at the same time.

            “Get ready,” Rocket said.

            “Drop her, Kraglin!” Yondu called out to his first mate, the mining vehicle falling from the ship and flying down into Ego’s atmosphere.

            “…Huh, Floor didn’t see face before,” Floor said, looking down at the face on Ego’s surface.

            Rocket piloted the ship down, following Gamora’s transmitter as the surface below started glowing with eerie light. “Looks like that citadel is where the team is. Everyone, hold onto something!” Rocket ordered as he punched it, breaking through the building’s ceiling where Ego looked up at them in surprise.

            “Hey there, Jackass!” Yondu shouted as they squashed Ego.

            Lylla and Floor opened up the doors on the vehicle for the other guardians. “This way, team!” Lylla called.

            “Blue lady! You’re here too!” Floor called out when she saw Nebula with the group.

            “Out of the way dumber, smaller Groot!” Drax shouted as Groot waved to them, the tree punching at the warrior while Gamora helped Quill get back on his feet.

            “I take it we missed quite a bit while we were gone,” Teefs said.

            “What are you doing? You could have killed us all!” Drax exclaimed.

            “Uh, “Thank you, Rocket”?” Rocket retorted, crossing his arms.

            “We had it under control,” Drax replied.

            “We did not… That is only an extension of his true self,” Mantis said. “He will be back soon.”

            “What’s Smurfette doing here?” Quill asked as he and Gamora got onboard.

            “Whatever I need to do to get a damn ride home,” Nebula answered.

            “Blue lady Guardian of Galaxy now!” Floor giggled.

            “She tried to murder us!” Rocket shouted.

            “I saved you and your stupid friends, fox,” Nebula shot back.

            “He’s not a fox,” Lylla corrected.

            “I am Groot!” Groot said.

            “Yeah, I’m a raccoon,” Rocket nodded.

            Suddenly, energy tendrils started popping out of the ground around the ship. “How do we kill a Celestial?” Drax asked.

            “There’s a center to him. His brain, his soul, whatever it is… some sort of protective shell,” Quill replied.

            “It’s in the caverns below the surface,” Mantis added.

            Yondu took control of the ship to get them out of there, but the tendrils started wrapping around their vehicle, halting the escape. “Thrusters are out,” Yondu called.

            “Floor fix it!” Floor called, burrowing into the ship’s walls to find the problem.

            “Guess I should be glad I was a skinny kid. Otherwise, you’d have delivered me to this maniac,” Quill said.

            “You still reckon that’s the reason I kept you around, you idiot?” Yondu questioned.

            “That’s what you told me, you old doofus,” Quill shot back.

            “Once I figured out what happened to them other kids I wasn’t just gonna hand you over,” Yondu said.

            “You said you were gonna eat me,” Quill reminded him.

            “That was being funny!” Yondu shouted.

            Quill gave him a look. “Not to me!”

            “You people have issues,” Rocket sighed as he pushed a few buttons, Floor popping out underneath his seat.

            “Floor done!” the rabbit called.

            “Well of course I have issues. That’s my freaking father!” Quill shouted as he pointed out the window that the regenerating Ego.

            “Thrusters are back online!” Teefs called out as Yondu and Quill gunned the engines, escaping the tendrils and sending the craft plummeting down towards the planet.

            “We should be going up!” Yondu shouted.

            “We can’t. Ego wants to eradicate the universe as we know it. We have to kill him,” Quill said. “Rocket!”

            “Got it!” Rocket nodded, flipping a switch to activate the ship’s mining lasers so they could burrow down into the surface of Ego. “So we’re saving the Galaxy again?”

            “Looks like it,” Lylla grinned.

            “Awesome! We’re really gonna be able to jack up our prices if we’re two time galaxy savers,” the raccoon stated.

            “I seriously can’t believe that’s where your mind goes,” Quill rolled his eyes.

            “It was just a random thought, man. I thought we were friends,” Rocket replied. “Of course I care about the planets, and the buildings, and all the animals on the planets.”

            “And the people,” Quill added.

            “Meh,” Rocket shrugged, getting a playful nudge from Lylla for that.

            “The crappy puppy’s so cute. He makes me wanna die!” Mantis grinned.

Chapter Text

            “The Guardians of the Galaxy were reunited at last, and with Yondu, Mantis, and Nebula as their allies, the team raced into the heart of Ego’s planet to stop his plans of assimilating the universe into his being. Time was of the essence, and it would take everyone working together to save the galaxy…”

            As the Guardians were saving the universe once more, Kraglin was left in charge of the ship hovering above the surface of Ego. The Ravager was whistling along with Quill’s music as it played, keeping the coms open and watching over Sale, the raccoon still tied up in her chair and looking miserable. Kraglin thought it was weird seeing another creature like Rocket, considering he thought Batch 89 were a one-of-a-kind freak science experiment, but maybe there was a whole planet of creatures that were just like Rocket out there in the universe? It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to imagine existing.

            “You all are insane, you know that?” Sale said. “Taking on a being as powerful as a celestial… that’s suicide!”

            “Well, it’s not like the alternative is much better,” Kraglin replied. “I mean, Quill and his friends stopped a crazy Kree warrior using an Infinity Stone, so I think they can win this.”

            “That kind of faith is a fool’s errand,” Sale scoffed. “All of you are but scum without a purpose, unlike-”

            “Unlike who, your supposed “Sire” that you’re always yapping on about?” Kraglin snapped, making Sale shut up in surprise. “I don’t know if you realize this, lady, but the guy you’re working for is just as bad as Ego if everything I’ve heard about him is true. Rocket and his critter friends were all tortured and experimented on by your Sire, and they’ve never said anything food about where they came from.”

            “That’s only because Rocket is delusional. Sire doesn’t hurt anyone that doesn’t deserve it,” Sale rolled her eyes.

            “So those mechanical parts and scars were “deserved”?” Kraglin questioned. “And what about that thing your Sire has on your heart that shocks you when you disobey him? A boss that hurts you to get what he wants ain’t a good boss, Sale!”

            “And your think Yondu is better?” Sale asked.

            “The captain can be a hard-ass, but he cared about his crew, especially Quill. Yondu crawled all the way out of slavery and found a home with the Ravagers, and sure he’s made mistakes along the way, but I’d follow Yondu to the end of the universe and back if he asked,” Kraglin retorted. “Yondu has my respect, and he respects me back for my loyalty to him. Does your Sire respect you, Sale?”

            Sale didn’t know what to say in response to that. “…When we talked before, you said Subject 89P13 and his batchmates were like a family. And you said that Sire creating us… doesn’t mean he’s family?”

            Kraglin nodded. “Yeah. Just cause someone made us, doesn’t make ‘em family. Hell, I’d say Yondu is more like Quill’s dad than Ego ever was. Rocket and Lylla are like the parents of little Groot too, even if he ain’t their birth kid. Family can be a mess, but we can choose who we consider family… You can choose who yer family is, Sale.”

            Sale gave a harsh laugh. “Not if Sire has anything to say about it. If I can’t deliver Subject 89P13 to him, that’ll be the end of me. I don’t even know why he needs Rocket in the first place when he’s got me… You know, I was made to capture Subject 89P13, but after that, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

            “Well, if there’s anything else to know about family, it’s that a family sticks up for each other, not just demanding stuff out of others,” Kraglin added. “if you decide to wise up and see which side you really want to be on, you could always join Yondu and I. We kinda have to rebuild our Ravager group now if you didn’t notice.”

            “Seriously? You’d let me join you after I basically caused the death of your crew?” Sale raised an eyebrow.

            “I mean, I’ve had friends do worse before. Being a space pirate is dangerous work and all, but you looked like you were having fun when you were captain,” Kraglin said.

            Sale didn’t say anything after that, just staring out the window as she pondered on what she was going to do after all of this. ‘…The stars sure are beautiful at the end of the world, aren’t they?’ she idly thought.

            Down on Ego, the Guardians were still drilling into the planet’s surface to make it to the core. “Mr. Star-Lord, why does Ego want you here?” Teefs asked.

            “He needs my genetic connection to the light to help destroy the universe,” Quill explained. “He tried to teach me how to control the power.”

            “Star-Lord has power!?!” Floor gasped.

            “So could you?” Yondu asked.

            “A little,” Quill shrugged. “I made a ball.”

            “A ball?” Yondu raised an eyebrow.

            “I thought as hard as I could. It was all that I could come up with,” Quill said.

            “You “thought.” You think when I make this arrow fly, I use my head?” Yondu asked.

            The ship suddenly lurched as they rammed against the cavern wall, everyone holding on tight as they squeezed through into the core of the planet. Part of the ship’s wall had been torn off, giving the Guardians a good view of the inside of Ego, filled with various structures that connected to every part of the world like a nervous system.

            “There. That’s Ego’s core,” Mantis stated, pointing to a blue ball at the center of the planet.

            “That ore is think, Rocket,” Lylla warned.

            “I got it covered,” Rocket assured her, firing up the lasers on the ship and aligning them to the front for maximum output.

            “We must hurry. It will not take Ego long to find us,” Mantis said.

            “Keep it steady!” Rocket called as he turned on the lasers, sending a massive beam into the core to slowly drill their way inside.

            “We drill into the center, we kill him!” Quill relayed the plan.

            As the beam continued to fire, it suddenly made a groaning sound before cutting out, Rocket pushing a few buttons in the controls before clutching his head in panic. “Oh flark, come on!”

            “Rocket, why’d you stop firing the laser?” Quill asked.

            “The laser’s overheated and blew out the generator. Damned thing is too old and doesn’t have enough power to cut through the center,” Rocket said, hopping out of his chair and grabbing his bag.

            “Can we fix it?” Teefs asked.

            “We don’t have time for that. What we need is to toss and explosive down the hole to blow the core to kingdom come,” Rocket said, pulling out scraps from his bag. “I think I packed a detonator in here…”

            “A detonator is worthless without an explosive,” Nebula pointed out.

            Rocket grinned and held up the stolen batteries. “I do have these. If we blow them up inside the core, it’ll cause a chain reaction throughout Ego’s entire nervous system.”

            “Meaning what?” Quill asked.

            “Planet go big boom!” Floor cheered.

            “Then we’ll have to make our escape as soon as the bomb goes off,” Lylla said. She looked outside with concern as parts of Ego started glowing. “And we need to set it up fast before Ego catches us as well…”

            Rocket finished putting the final touches on the makeshift bomb and smiled. “There, I rigged a timer.”

            “Then let’s go,” Quill nodded. “Everyone, find a way to stall Ego until we get the bomb in there, okay?”

            “On it, Star-Lord,” Lylla said with a nod as Quill, Rocket, and Groot flew off to go plant the bomb. The rest of the team took the ship down to the ground as lights started to glow around them.

            Gamora turned to Mantis. “Can’t you make Ego go to sleep?”

            “When he wants to. He’s too powerful,” Mantis shook her head. “I can’t do it.”

            “You don’t have to believe in yourself,” Drax said. “Because I believe in you.”

            Mantis looked to him surprise but took a deep breath and pressed a hand to the ground. “SLEEP!” she shouted, the lights around Ego cutting out as she reached out to her former master with her powers.

            “Bug lady made planet take a nap!” Floor cheered.

            “Good job, Mantis,” Lylla nodded.

            “I never thought she would be able to do it with as weak and skinny as she appears to be,” Drax admitted.

            “I don’t know how long I can hold him,” Mantis warned, some lights on the planet flickering as pockets of energy came up.

            “Man… Tis…” Ego’s voice rang out, glowing clones of himself coming out of the lights. “Let… Me… Rise…”

            “Get ready for a fight, team,” Gamora said as she took out her sword, Drax, Lylla, Floor, and Nebula pulling out their respective weapons as well. “Yondu, you and Teefs keep out ship in the air. The last thing we need is our way out being destroyed.”

            “On it, Ms. Gamora!” Teefs saluted as he hopped back in the ship, Yondu piloting it back up as the Walrus took out his cannon, positioning himself at the ship’s entrance to act as a gunner from the air.

            Back with Rocket, he turned on a flashlight as they entered the hole the laser had made. “The metal’s too thick,” Rocket sighed. “For the bomb to work we’d need to actually place it on Ego’s core. And our fat butt’s aren’t going to fit through those tiny holes. Hell, even Floor couldn’t make it through!”

            Quill looked down at Groot. “Well…”

            “That is a terrible idea,” Rocket said.

            “Which is the only kind of idea we have left,” Quill pointed out.

            Rocket groaned, picking up Groot and muttering to himself as Quill went outside to join his friends in fighting the Ego clones. The raccoon set Groot down before placing the detonator in front of the tree child. “All right, first you flick this switch, then this switch. That activates it. Then you push this button, which will give you five minutes to get out of there. Now, whatever you do, don’t. Push. This. Button. Because that will set off the bomb immediately and we’ll all be dead. Now, repeat back what I just said.”

            Groot looked to the detonator, then to Rocket. “I am Groot.”

            “Uh huh…”

            “I am Groot.”

            “That’s right.”

            Groot pointed at the second button. “I am Groot!”

            “No! No, that’s the button that will kill everyone!” Rocket shouted. “Try again.”

            Groot thought about it before replying, “I am Groot.”

            “Mm-Hm.”

            “I am Groot?”

            “Uh huh.”

            He pointed at the second button with a smile. “I am Groot.”

            “No! That’s exactly what you just said!” Rocket exclaimed. “How is that even possible!?! Which button is the button you’re supposed to push? Point to it.” Groot pointed at the second button. “NO!”

            Lylla chimed in over the coms as she shot down one of the Ego clones. “Rocket, I hope you’re being patient with Groot. He gets nervous when you yell at him.”

            “Well he’s not making it easy, Lady!” Rocket groaned, switching the coms to the team channel. “I need some tape! Does anyone have any tape out there? I wanna put some tape over the death button.”

            “Why is there a death button in the first place!?!” Nebula shouted as he sliced two clones at once.

            “It was a rush job, I couldn’t mod the detonator in that short of a time!” Rocket replied.

            “I don’t have any tape,” Quill said.

            “None here,” Gamora added, spinning in a circle to cut down a group of clones.

            “I too do not have any tape,” Drax replied, throwing Floor like a football and unleashing the rabbit on the clones, her legs stabbing and slicing at whatever part of Ego they touched.

            “I left all of my tape on the Milano. Sorry, Rocket,” Teefs said.

            “Not a single person has tape!?!” Rocket exclaimed in exasperation.

            “Doesn’t seem like it,” Lylla said.

            “Does Kraglin have tape?” Rocket asked.

            “…Let me check,” Yondu said, switching com channels. “Kraglin! Do you got any tape up there?”

            “Sorry captain, but we used the last of it last week to keep the ship’s manual together, remember?” Kraglin replied.

            Yondu sighed and changed back to the team channel. “Kraglin doesn’t have tape either.”

            “I’m surprised Rocket doesn’t have tape,” Teefs admitted.

            “Yeah, you’re the one carrying an atomic bomb in your bag, Rocket. If anyone’s gonna have tape, it’s you!” Quill pointed out.

            “That’s exactly my point! I have to do everything!” Rocket shouted.

            “Boys, you are wasting a lot of time arguing here!” Lylla cut in.

            Rocket sighed and turned around to try and explain the plan to Groot again, only to watch as the tree child ran off into the one of the holes, laughing with glee as he slid down into Ego’s core with the detonator in hand. “…We’re all gonna die,” he sighed.

            On the transport ship, Teefs winced as the Ego clones started tossing themselves at the ship, the walrus having to blast them away from the engines so they could stay in the air. “While I appreciate having the high ground advantage, I can’t focus on supporting the team when they’re coming up here as well!” Teefs shouted, switching his collar over to his repair tools to fix the engine. He flinched back in shock as the stress of the damage made the machinery catch mire. “Oh dear…”

            Quill came into the ship for a landing. “What’s going on?”

            “I don’t think this ship is going to last much longer,” Teefs said with worry.

            “…Then let’s make Ego hurt with what we’ve got,” Yondu said, getting out of his chair and whistling for his arrow.

            Down on the ground, Rocket made his entrance known by blasting through a few Ego clones, laughing as he finally got to get in on the action. “You doing good up there, Teefs?” he called.

            “The ship has been compromised, so prepare for an emergency landing!” Teefs shouted. The ship’s innards soon flashed with warning signs as the walrus jumped from the hole, his wheels fanning out into emergency thrusters to slow his fall.

            Quill and Yondu came down with him, using their jetpack and arrow respectively to slow their descent as the ship was sent spiraling into the heart of the Ego hoard, exploding in spectacular fashion that brought a tear to Rocket’s eye. Quill couldn’t help but laugh at bit as he looked up at Yondu. “You look like Mary Poppins,” he commented.

            “Is he cool?” Yondu asked.

            Quill nodded. “Hell yeah, he’s cool.”

            “I’m Mary Poppins, y’all!” Yondu shouted as he landed.

            The group all gathered around, ready to face off against the rest of the Ego clones until Groot planted the bomb… only for a piece of the ship’s debris to fly out and clock Mantis in the head, knocking her out cold. “Mantis, look out!” Drax said after a beat.

            “…Welp, we’re doomed,” Rocket sighed as Ego’s light shone throughout the cavern again.

            “At least Mantis is just unconscious,” Lylla noted as Drax picked her up. “Rocket, how long do we have until the bomb goes off?”

            “In the unlikely event that Groot doesn’t kill us all… about six minutes,” the raccoon replied.

            “Kraglin, we need the quadrant for an extraction! T minus five minutes,” Yondu called as the cavern above them started opening up.

            “Somebody’s gotta be up top when Kraglin arrives,” Quill ordered, taking off his aero-rig and slapping it on Drax. “Drax, you take Mantis.”

            “Ow! My nipples!” Drax screamed as he rocketed up to the surface.

            The ground beneath the team started to crumble, and while Rocket was able to grab Lylla and pull her to safety, Gamora, Floor, Nebula, and Teefs all started falling into the abyss below. Teefs flailed about before activating his wheels again, this time sending out a tow cable that latched onto the wall, tethering himself to the stone. Nebula meanwhile used her cyborg strength to catch Gamora, who in turn caught Floor.

            “I’ll send down another line for you three to pull yourselves up!” Teefs called, sending out said line for Nebula to latch onto.

            “Floor having fun swinging!” Floor giggled as she used her spider legs to skitter up Gamora and Nebula to climb the line.

            “I’m going to kill that rodent if we survive this…” Nebula muttered.

            “Come now, Peter. I know this isn’t what you want,” Ego said, sending out tendrils of energy to attack the Guardians while they fought back with blasters and Yondu’s arrow. “What kind of father would I be to let you make this choice?”

            “Rocket, do you have any more tricks that could help?” Lylla asked as she fired at the tendrils with her blaster.

            “I’ve been meaning to test this out for a while!” Rocket shouted, tossing out small bombs that magnetized together to create a protective electric field around them. When the tendrils closed in, the raccoon detonated the bombs, destroying their adversaries.

            “So, Peter, we will be all there is. So stop pissing me off!” Ego shouted, slapping Quill across the face so hard that it broke his mask.

            “We need to get up to the extraction point!” Gamora ordered once Teefs managed to pull them all to safety.

            “Oh, friends ride rocks to top!” Floor suggested, pointing to the rising pillars.

            “That’s… actually a good plan,” Nebula admitted, the four of them making their escape to the surface by hopping from pillar to pillar as they ascended upwards.

            It was then, however, that Ego finally managed to reform his body, his powers coming back in full as his tendrils lashed out and subdued all of the Guardians wherever they stood on the planet, including Groot and the escape ship. “I told you, I don’t want to do this alone,” Ego said as he approached Quill, stabbing him with energy again. “You cannot deny the purpose the universe has bestowed upon you! It doesn’t need to be like this, Peter… Why are you destroying our chance? Stop pretending you aren’t what you are. One in billions. Trillions. Even more. What greater meaning can life possibly have to offer?”

            “You as that is if all that matters is you!” Rocket shouted, grunting as he was slowly being crushed to death. “But I know from working with these guys that living only your yourself, ain’t really living at all!”

            “I don’t use my head to fly the arrow, boy!” Yondu shouted. “I use my heart!”

            With those words, Quill thought of all the moment he’d spent with his family: listening to music with his mom, telling jokes with Drax, testing Rocket’s jetpacks, fixing the Milano with Teefs, cooking meals with Lylla, reading stories with Floor and Groot, dancing with Gamora, and Yondu teaching him to use a blaster. With a clenching of his fist, Ego’s energy started to swirl around Quill, he said, “You shouldn’t have killed my mom and squished my Walkman,” before rushing at Ego with everything he had.

            With Ego thoroughly distracted and getting the tar punched out of him by Quill, the other Guardians were able to break free of their bindings, Rocket and Lylla flying up to where Groot was to get him. “Groot! Can you hear us?” Lylla shouted.

            “Hurry up, little buddy! We gotta go!” Rocket added. “I’m not sure how long Quill can keep him distracted!”

            It wasn’t long before Groot came running out, shouting, “I am Groot!” before jumping into Lylla’s arms.

            “You hit the right button!?! Well… great job, Groot!” Rocket said with a nod.

            “Yondu, the bomb’s been set! We need to get Quill and go!” Lylla said over the coms.

             “I’ll get him out of here! You two need to take care of the twig,” Yondu replied.

            “No way, we’re not leaving without you,” Rocket shook his head.

            “I ain’t done nothing right my whole damn life, rat. You need to give me this,” Yondu said.

            Rocket contemplated what those words meant, before flying down and giving something to Yondu. “A spacesuit and an aero rig. I only have one of each,” the raccoon said.

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “What’s that?” Yondu asked.

            “He said, “Welcome to the fricking Guardians of the Galaxy.” Only he didn’t say fricking,” Rocket replied. “We’re going to need to have a real discussion about your language.”

            Lylla looked between the two and realized what was going on. “W-Wait!” she said before they took off into the sky. “Rocket, we can’t leave Yondu! You know he’s going to sacrifice himself for Quill!”

            “Just like Groot did for us back on Xandar, and like I’d do for any of you guys if it came down to it,” Rocket said solemnly, wincing as Lylla bitterly hit against his chest and tears flowed down her face. “He’s doing this for all of us, Lylla. You understand?”

            Lylla just sobbed, before going silent and nodding as they made it up to the surface.

            “Friends have made it!” Floor called as the three landed inside.

            “Where’s Mr. Star-Lord?” Teefs asked. Rocket didn’t answer, just pulling out the countdown timer as it ticked down. “…Rocket, Lylla? Where’s Quill?” Lylla just sobbed as Groot pointed outside.

“Peter! We have to go after him,” Gamora said, rushing to grab a gun and race to where Quill was. She was stopped by an electro-blast from Rocket, the raccoon sadly shaking his head.

            “Rocket, why shoot Friend Gamora?” Floor gasped.

            “I can only afford to lose one friend today,” Rocket replied. “Kraglin, go!”

            “Rocket, where’s Quill?” Drax asked. “Rocket! Where’s Quill!?!”

            Despite everyone’s protests, the ship took off up and away from Ego as the planet exploded. ‘Soar on, Yondu Udonta. Into the endless and forever sky…’ Rocket thought, a tear falling down his cheek as he simply knelt down next to Lylla to comfort her.

Chapter Text

            “The evil of Ego the Living Planet had been quelled, but at a great personal loss for the Guardians of the Galaxy. With their newest adventure coming to a close, the team would have to tie up a few loose ends before moving on into a new era…”

            The Guardians were all silent as they prepared Yondu’s body for his funeral. Flowers and small trinkets were placed along the stretcher, the body tied down securely for its final voyage into the forever sky.

            Quill stood before his team and gave a speech. “You know I told Gamora how when I was a kid I used to pretend David Hasselhoff was my dad. He’s a singer and actor from Earth, really famous guy. Earlier, it struck me… Yondu didn’t have a talking car, but he did have a flying arrow. He didn’t have the beautiful voice of an angel, but he did have the whistle of one. Both Yondu and David Hasselhoff went on kick ass adventures, and hooked up with hot women… and fought robots.

            “I guess David Hasselhoff did end up being my dad after all, only it was you, Yondu. I had a pretty cool dad. What I’m trying to say here is… sometimes that thing you’re searching for your whole life, it’s right there by your side the whole time. You don’t even know it.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said.

            “He did call you twig,” Rocket nodded sadly.

            With that Yondu’s body was sent into the cremation chamber, burning off into colorful space dust. “Friend Yondu gone now…?” Floor asked.

            “Yes, Floor, but I think… I believe he’s still out there. Waiting for us to join him in the forever sky when we’re ready,” Teefs said, the walrus starting to get teary-eyed.

            The Guardians all dispersed from there, Gamora seeing Nebula off as her sister went out to pursue Thanos and Quill receiving his final gift from Yondu via Kraglin, being a music-playing device from Earth called a Zune. Rocket meanwhile went up to the cockpit of the ship with Lylla, Sale still being tied to one of the chairs as the raccoon sat down and looked out into the stars.

            “…Well, are you going to take me to jail or something now?” Sale asked bitterly.

            “There’s something else we gotta see first,” Rocket said just as ships started coming out of jump gates. “They actually came.”

            “What is it?” Lylla asked.

            “I sent word to Yondu’s old Ravager buddies and told them what they did,” Rocket explained.

            “It’s a Ravager funeral,” Quill realized as everyone came up to the window to see what would happen next.

            The Ravager ships soon started shooting off fireworks, creating a brilliant display of light that brought tears to the eyes of those that witnessed it. “He didn’t chase them away,” Rocket said.

            “No,” Quill agreed.

            “Even though yelled at them, and was always mean… And did everything to try and act like he didn’t care,” Rocket said.

            “Well, of course not,” Quill said, a silent reconciliation happening between the human and raccoon.

            “It’s beautiful…” Mantis and Lylla said in awe. The otter subtly took Rocket’s hand in her own and squeezed it tightly. “It’s good to have friends…” she whispered.

[***]

            After Yondu’s funeral, the Guardians went off to find a new ship, since the Milano at this point would be too much of a hassle to repair. Rocket let Quill take over piloting as he and the rest of Batch 89 had something very important they needed to deal with. Dragging Sale into one of the spare rooms on the ship, Lylla got to work with her medical tools while Rocket hacked into their adversary’s communications device.

            “What are you lot doing?” Sale raised an eyebrow as Lylla waved a scanner over her body.

            “Just checking for any foreign devices the High Evolutionary may have put in your body,” Lylla replied, her device beeping as it scanned Sale’s heart. “Yep, just as I thought. She has the same type of kill switch that we had. Teefs, the stunner, please.”

            “Got it, Lylla,” Teefs nodded, pulling out a taser from his collar and quickly jabbing Sale with it.

            “What are you doing-!” Sale said before seizing up and falling unconscious.

            “Night-night!” Floor giggled before the raccoon blacked out.

            Sale was jolted awake a few hours later, her top pulled open and minor scarring over where her heart rested. “What the hell did you do to me!?!” she demanded.

            “We saved your life, thank you very much,” Rocket rolled his eyes. “The High Evolutionary had you hooked up to the same device that we all had, and Lylla decided to be nice and take it out for you.”

            “It also gave me a good look at how your biology differs from our own,” Lylla said, holding up her data pad that showed anatomy readings for both Rocket and Sale. “Aside from the obvious sexual dimorphism between yourself and Rocky, you have few mechanical implants in your body to allow for advanced motor functions when compared to us. His experiments on Counter Earth have let him create more Uplifts with only at most 10% implants and 90% gene splicing. Fasinating!”

            “Well, last I saw his machine could turn any animal into a Terran-animal hybrid. Don’t know why he would make more like us, though. I thought we were supposed to be “outdated” for his perfect world,” Rocket shrugged.

            “Sire wanted someone closer to yourselves to go after you. Someone that you wouldn’t see coming,” Sale replied. “Clearly it didn’t go how he thought it would.”

            “Well, you can tell him that yourself. Communications are ready, Captain Rocket,” Teefs said.

            “Good. Put him on. I think we have a lot to say to “Sire” after all this time,” Rocket nodded.

            Sale’s communication device suddenly turned on, revealing a hologram of the High Evolutionary himself. “Subject 95Y14. Do have Subject 89P13 ready to be delivered to me?” the man asked.

            “The name’s Rocket, jackass. Rocket Raccoon,” Rocket said, crossing his arms as Batch 89 put themselves into view of the hologram. “And just so you know, sending one of our own after us ain’t cool. You could have at least done the job yourself, but then again, you always did need me to finish your inventions didn’t you?”

            “Subject 89P13! Where is Subject 95Y14?” High Evolutionary demanded.

            “Her name is Sale, and she is safe,” Lylla said, gesturing to Sale sitting dumbly behind them, the raccoon trying to make herself look as small as possible.

            “Yeah, friends not captured, but make new friend!” Floor cheered.

            “Eh, us being friends is debatable, but she’s no worse than Nebula so I guess that counts for something,” Rocket shrugged.

            High Evolutionary frowned. “I warned you about failure, Subject 95Y14. I do not tolerate imperfection in my grand vision.” He pulled out a device and pressed a button on it, Sale wincing as she waited for the pain to come… but nothing happened.

            “Huh? No pain…?” Sale said in confusion, even as the High Evolutionary tried the button a few more times.

            “Oh, were you expecting to kill Sale with this?” Teefs asked, chuckling as he held up the destroyed kill switch.

            “We know all about your tricks to keep us in line, High Evolutionary, and once again you underestimated what we could do,” Lylla said sternly.

            “You can send any of your mooks after us, but you ain’t gonna bring us back quietly,” Rocket smirked. “Because if you want me, then you’ll have to go through the rest of Batch 89 first, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. And if you come after my friends, then I’ll go to Hell and back to get ‘em back from you. Hope we never see you again, you psycho.”

            Before the High Evolutionary could respond (most likely in the form of an angry rant), Rocket smashed the communicator, cutting him off from the group. The raccoon let out a big sigh, sitting down as Batch 89 gathered around to comfort him.

            “I…I can’t believe you just did that,” Sale said numbly.

            “I can’t believe it either, Sale. But that guy, he doesn’t control you or any of us anymore,” Rocket replied.

            “No, you don’t get it. If I don’t have Sire anymore, who am I supposed to be?” Sale asked.

            “Friend Sale be friend of Guardians. Travel forever sky with us!” Floor suggested.

            “Yeah, no. She might not be controlled by that guy anymore, but she still has to make up for kidnapping us,” Rocket said.

            “I-I… You’re all insane!” Sale shouted, clutching her face and screaming, before laughing manically, quickly devolving into tears. “W-Who even am I at this point!?! Sire just tried to kill me, but the people I was trying to kill just saved me!?! How does that make any bloody sense, huh!?!”

            Floor went over and started giving soothing rubs to Sale’s back to call her, while Lylla explained, “The High Evolutionary doesn’t see us as people, only as his property. The difference between him and us is that we care about other life forms, and as Guardians of the Galaxy, we have a duty to help those in need. You made mistakes and bad decisions, Sale, but so did the rest of us here. If we can move on from our past, I know you can too.”

            “Besides, you have skills you could use to make a name for yourself, outside of Sire’s control,” Teefs pointed out. “You managed to get the upper hand on an entire ship of Ravagers, which not many could do so easily as you did. And Kraglin seems to like you. I’m sure he’s looking for his next steps to take as well now that Yondu has passed on.”

            “Kraglin…” Sale said, remembering how the Ravager had made her start to question what her purpose was… and how Yondu would have let her join his crew despite all she had done. “I… I liked being captain.”

            “Then you can be your own captain,” Lylla said with a smile. “Go out into the stars and explore new worlds. Do more than what Sire wants; do what Captain Sale wants.”

            “What Captain Sale wants…” Sale repeated. She closed her eyes as she let a few more tears fall. “Flark, you all are too nice to someone like me.”

            “Just don’t try to kill us again and we’ll call it even,” Rocket said.

[***]

            On Counter-Earth, the High Evolutionary’s workers all winced as their boss was once again destroying everything in his room. The scientist was not happy that Rocket and his friends had slipped from his grasp once again, and they had taken Sale away from him as well. As he ranted and raved to himself, Ayesha of the Sovereign came into the room, looking unamused at her collaborators actions.

            “I thought you were more composed than this, High Evolutionary,” Ayesha said. “Did another experiment not go to plan?”

            High Evolutionary held out a hand to the golden women, catching her in his telekinetic grip. “I am tired of Subject 89P13 evading me! Its mind is the only one to ever come close to my greatness, and it belongs to ME! NO ONE ELSE! And now it and the others have corrupted another of my subjects! Creating Batch 95 was a miscalculation on my part, but that will be corrected soon enough when I terminate the project.”

            “If I may make a suggestion…?” Ayesha choked out, gasping for air when the High Evolutionary dropped her to the floor. "I have seen 89P13 in action alongside their Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn’t think much of them at first, but looking back I realize that they are your creations as well. The Guardians made a mockery of the Sovereign, and I want revenge on them as much as you do.”

            The High Evolutionary decided not to tell Ayesha that Sale was the one to frame the Guardians, simply raising an eyebrow. “You may continue.”

            “The reason your creations are so rebellious is because you didn’t give them something to believe in. You crushed their hopes and dreams, and that only made them bite that hand that feeds them,” Ayesha said, moving over to look out at Counter-Earth. “Look at your latest creations. They have made their own lives, and yet you let them have so much autonomy? My people serve the Sovereign and the Sovereign alone. They look to me for guidance, much like how the others look to 89P13.”

            She snapped her fingers, calling in some of her guards as they wheeled a cocoon into the room. “If you want your creations to fall in line, you need to give them something to believe in, and someone to lead them. Even if it’s all for the sake of keeping them in line, build a strong foundation and they will walk off a cliff if you so command it.”

            The High Evolutionary pondered Ayesha’s words before nodding. “I see… Yes, that’s it! If the mind is preoccupied with the present, it will not have time to think about why it is doing a task if it is in service of a greater power. The Counter-Earth Project will continue as it is now, but for my newest creations… Batch 95 will worship an idol of my own creation, and from it the perfect lifeforms will be born!”

            “And I have the idol you need right here,” Ayesha said, gesturing to the cocoon. “The greatest and most perfect being of Sovereign design… My son, Adam.”

Chapter Text

“It would be some time before the Guardians of the Galaxy would face another major threat like Ego. In these times between adventures, I like to look at the more mundane activities of our heroes and how they act when not saving the universe. For Batch 89, that meant taking care of baby Groot…”

            Teefs hummed happily to himself as he worked, mechanical collar reaching out to grab tools and bits of scrap metal to shape and wield together. The Guardians had obtained a new ship that Star-Lord named the Benatar, leaving Kraglin and Sale to form their own Ravager crew with Yondu’s old ship. The Benatar was larger than the Milano, giving each team member their own space to live/work in as well as a smaller pod ship that could detach from the back.

            Currently Teefs was indulging in his favorite pastime of making small statues and toys out of scrap. The walrus found it to be a soothing practice, and it didn’t hurt that he could make a few units off them whenever they landed on an inhabited planet. It made Teefs smile when a kid’s eyes would light up at the sight of their parent buying them a new toy.

            Speaking of children, Groot suddenly hopped up on the workbench, pulling over a roll of duct tape to sit on. “Hello there, Groot,” Teefs greeted. “Did you want to see what I’ve been working on?”

            “I am Groot!” Groot nodded.

            Teefs held up his latest creation. “I’m building a mechanical rabbit toy.”

            “I am Groot?”

            Teefs chuckled. “Yes, like Floor. You see, if you put the key in the rabbit’s back…” The walrus grabbed a wind-up key and inserted it into a hole on the toy. “Then you just wind it up a bit and…!” With a twist of the key, the toy rabbit hunched down before jumping a good foot into the air, landing on the table before jumping again.

            “I am Groot!” Groot cheered, chasing the toy around a bit before it finally stopped jumping. “I am Groot! I am Groot!”

            “It is a lot of fun to watch it hop around, isn’t it?” Teefs smiled.

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked.

            “I don’t see what you can’t play with it a bit more,” Teefs shrugged, handing the toy to Groot. “Just be careful with it, and don’t let the rabbit get too far from you, okay?”

            “I am Groot!” Groot nodded before hopping off the table with the toy in hand.

            Teefs smiled before going back to his tinkering, humming along with the music Quill had playing over the ship’s coms. As the walrus began work in a new toy (this one was going to be a spider that could actually climb up walls), the sound of commotion came from outside his work station. Teefs grew concerned as more of the Guardians’ voices joined in the clamor alongside the sounds of things being knocked over or broken.

            Teefs wheeled himself out of his room to find everyone else chasing Groot around, Rocket trying to keep the ship from crashing into a nearby planet as the tree-child bounced all over the ship. The walrus soon saw what the problem was and snatched the mechanical rabbit out of the air as it jumped, the rest of the Guardians ending up in a pile in front of him as Groot laughed.

            “Thank God that’s over with…” Quill groaned.

            “Drax, get your butt off me,” Gamora growled in annoyance.

            “My butt is not on you, Gamora. Clearly I am face-down on top of you,” Drax replied.

            “I take it that Groot showed all of you my newest toy?” Teefs said with a small chuckle.

            “Small toy look like me!” Floor chimed in.    

            “Yeah, and just like you it decided to cause a lot of mischief on the ship,” Rocket said.

            “Groot wound up the key on its back and it just wouldn’t stop jumping,” Lylla added. “I think it broke one of the potted plants down in the cargo hold.”

            “I’m sorry about that, everyone,” Teefs said. “Groot, you should apologize as well. I did tell you to be careful with this toy.”

            Groot turned to the other Guardians. “I am Groot.”

            “Apology accepted, tiny Groot. I have not hunted a rodent like that since my daughter’s first hunt!” Drax said jovially.

            “Just make sure you only play with that toy in a place where it can’t mess with the ship’s controls next time,” Rocket said. “Seriously, the last thing I need is something small making a mess while I’m flying.”

            On a jungle planet (which Quill remarked as being “Very Raiders of the Lost Ark,” not that any of the Guardians understood what that meant), Floor and Groot were off exploring to see what they could find. The rabbit hopped alongside her tree-child friend, the two passing a ball back-and-forth until they came across an ancient door.

            “Hm? Door shouldn’t be in middle of jungle,” Floor said in confusion. Tapping the door with her paw, the rabbit gasped as it slowly slid open, revealing a temple inside. Floor gave a gleeful cheer. “Secret room in jungle! Friend Rocket says secret rooms always have treasure inside, and treasure means units!”

            “I am Groot?” Groot said in confusion.

            “Well, units make Friend Rocket happy, so Floor give Rocket treasure to make him happy!” Floor explained.

            Groot nodded in agreement, stepping into the hallowed hall of the temple… and immediately setting off an arrow trap. Floor gasped in horror, only to realize that Groot was too short to actually be hit by any of the arrows as he fearlessly jumped forward. Giving a shrug, Floor followed in her friend’s steps, jumping and ducking around arrows, swinging blades, and twirling posts of doom until they both reached the other side of the room.

            “Whew! Floor a bit tired now from all the jumping, but dodging traps was lots of fun!” Floor giggled.

            Groot gave a sound of agreement, before taking a single step and setting off another trap. This one caused a statue to start spewing lava from its mouth, slowly filling up a basin that held what looked like a giant seed in the middle.

            “…Seed is treasure?” Floor tilted her head in confusion. She climbed up the steps to inspect the seed, looking around to find anything that could tell her more about what exactly she was looking at. Groot helpfully pointed out a mural on the wall depicting humanoid figures all gathered around a tree, with the seed in the center of it all.

            Floor squinted hard at the mural, looking between it and the seed. “Secret room have treasure, seed only thing in room, seed in pretty picture… Groot drawing on pretty picture.” The rabbit gasped and hopped over to Groot, picking him up with two of her spider arms. “No, bad Groot! Don’t draw on other people’s drawings! That very rude!”

            “I am Groot…” Groot said.

            “…Yes, Groot can go use toilet,” Floor nodded, setting tree-child down so he could relieve himself. The rabbit looked back at the mural. “Hm, seed on pretty picture, seed in secret room, secret room has treasure…”

            She gasped, “Seed is treasure!” before racing over to grab the seed before it could be drowned in the lava trap. Doing that caused the entire temple to shake, prompting Floor to book it out of there as fast as possible before the building could collapse around her. It was only after she had escaped that Floor realized she had left someone very important inside

            “Groot!” Floor shouted in horror as the temple fully collapsed. The rabbit started breathing heavily, tossing the seed aside as she frantically started digging through the rubble. “No, no, no! Friend Lylla say friends more important than units, but Floor didn’t look after Friend Groot anyways! Oh, I’m the worst friend ever!”

            Just as Floor was starting to break down into tears, some rocks were pushed aside, revealing Groot was unharmed. The tree-child found himself getting jump-hugged by the rabbit, giving a confused, “I am Groot?” in response.

            “Friend Groot, Friend Floor is so happy you are okay!” Floor cried. “Floor promise to never leave you behind again!”

            “I am Groot!” Groot said in protest at the hug, before accepting the gesture and hugging Floor back.

            “Good, feeling better now…” Floor sighed. She perked back up, letting Groot ride on her back as she grabbed the temple’s seed. “Now then, to show Friend Rocket treasure we found! Rocket will be super happy to see this, Floor knows it!”

            One stormy night, Lylla was awoken by Groot, the little tree-child pulling at her fur. “Groot? What is it?” she asked.

            “I am Groot…” Groot replied.

            The otter got out of bed and picked Groot up. “The storm is keeping you up? I know how that feels. Floor and the others had to get used to some planets having storms when we started travelling the galaxy at first too.”

            Lylla took Groot out of her and Rocket’s room and into the kitchen area where she brewed herself and Groot some tea. The otter giggled as Groot blew bubbles in his drink, before the boom of thunder made him jump in shock. Lylla tried to think of some way to help Groot calm down, and looked to Quill’s Zune for an answer.

            “Maybe there’s a song that could help you…” Lylla hummed, before finding a title and turning it on. She passed an earbud to Groot, the two listening to the song as it started to play.

Well, I love a rainy night
I love a rainy night
I love to hear the thunder
Watch the lightning when it lights up the sky
You know it makes me feel good…

            Lylla picked up Groot and took him up to the cockpit of the ship, watching as rain came down outside, her tail swaying to the beat of the song.

Well, I love a rainy night
It's such a beautiful sight
I love to feel the rain on my face
Taste the rain on my lips
In the moonlight shadows…

            “See Groot? The thunder and lightning may be scary at first, but the rain is wonderful to sit and watch,” Lylla said with a smile.

Showers wash all of my cares away
I wake up to a sunny day

'Cause I love a rainy night!

            Groot started moving along with the music, Lylla doing the same, tea left forgotten as they both feel into the rhythm of the song.

I love a rainy night
I love a rainy night
I love to hear the thunder
Watch the lightning' when it lights up the sky
You know it makes me feel good…

            When another clap of thunder rocked the ship, Lylla made sure to hold Groot’s hand, assuring the tree-child that things were okay. She swayed with the music, humming along as she picked Groot up.

Well, I love a rainy night
It's such a beautiful sight
I love to feel the rain on my face
Taste the rain on my lips
In the moonlight shadows…

            Lylla smiled as she danced with Groot, rocking him back and forth until he yawned and started to close his eyes.

Puts a song in this heart of mine
Puts a smile on my face every time

'Cause I love a rainy night!
            When Groot soundly asleep, Lylla carried him and the Zune back to her room, Rocket staring blearily at the door as she came in.

I love a rainy night!
You can see it in my eyes

Groot having trouble sleeping?” Rocket guessed.

“Yes, but a little bit of music and dancing was enough to calm him down,” Lylla whispered, tucking the tree-child into his bed.
I love a rainy night!
Makes me high

“Well come and join me, Lady. Groot’s not the only one that likes a little comfort to sleep better,” Rocket grinned.

Lylla giggled, turning off the lights before giving Rocket a kiss on the nose and cuddling up with her mate.
Well, I love a rainy night!
And I love you too
Yeah, I love a rainy night!

            Rocket let out a yawn as he walked down the engine hall of the Benatar, scratching his head a bit. Nothing was going on in the galaxy that warranted the Guardians to do anything, so Quill had given the team the day off to relax, which meant Rocket was on Groot-sitting duty.

            “Groot, are you down here?” Rocket called out, before the smell of something burning hit his nose. “Oh flark- Groot! Groot, are you dead, buddy?” he shouted in a panicked voice as he ran towards the smell. “Groot, Groot- oh, you’re right there.”

            Groot looked up from putting tape over a very obvious hole in the floor, probably from whatever explosive had caused a small fire in the room. “What- are those the ship’s fuel rods!?!” Rocket exclaimed, noticing the glowing yellow tubes lying about. “And how’d you manage to get the walls both wet and on fire!?! And-“

            Rocket bent down and picked up a half-used bar of soap. “Is that Drax’s soap? He won’t shut up about it… Groot, what does it look like a bomb went off in here?”

            “I am Groot,” Groot shrugged, continuing to tape over the hole in the floor.

            “A bomb did go off!?! How did you- Hey, don’t give me that look! Don’t think you’re going to get out of this by being cute,” Rocket scowled. Groot looked at his feet in shame, holding a piece of paper out for Rocket to take. “What is this, a piece of trash? It better be a written apology.”

            Rocket looked at the paper and was surprised at what he saw. The image was clearly a drawing of the Guardians, albeit crudely drawn with everyone only being recognizable by their colors and vague shapes. Groot was at the center of it all in his adult form, arms wrapped around everyone and smiling.

            “Huh, that’s… not bad, actually,” Rocket admitted. “Pretty good, Groot. We’ll have to get it framed and put it on the fridge.” The raccoon patted the tree-child on the head with a grin. “Aw, I can’t stay mad at you, kid. Now come on, let’s get this cleaned up before-”

            The ship suddenly lurched as the hole in floor broke open, the vacuum of space almost sucking out Rocket if Groot didn’t grab him first. “Oh come on, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Rocket shouted in annoyance.

            “I am Groot!” Groot said.

            “Apologizing isn’t going to fix the ship!” Rocket said.

            “Friend Rocket, why is there hole in floor?” Floor asked, popping out of the ceiling.

            “Groot made a bomb and put a hole in the floor. Go get Teefs to help me fix this!” Rocket ordered, Floor nodding before disappearing into the walls. “And get Lylla to come take care of Groot for a minute! You’re going to learn about safely doing arts and crafts, okay?”

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked.

            “…Well of course we’re still going to put your picture up. The others gotta see this too,” Rocket nodded.

Chapter Text

“When Mantis joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, Batch 89 did not know what to think of her at first. Spending time with their newest team member, however, would let them know the empath just a bit better…”

            The Guardians had just arrived on a new planet for a job- well, half the team was there for a job. There were rumors of a powerful artifact on the planet of Corpos, one that sounded a lot like an Infinity Stone from its description. Gamora had insisted that the team investigate the rumor, which is how they wound up parking the Benatar in the middle of one of the most densely populated docking ports Batch 89 had ever seen.

            “So many ships and colors…” Floor said in awe.

            “That’s Corpos for ya. An entire artificial planet created for the sole purpose of selling you things you don’t need and leaving you broke afterwards,” Rocket said, pressing a button that locked up the Benatar tight before shoving it in his pocket.

            “Why would I be broke? I am not easy to break,” Drax said.

            “Not that kind of broke, big guy,” Peter shook his head. “You know, we have places like this back on Earth called malls. This is like one of those but, you know, planet sized.”

            “And it’s the perfect place to hold illegal weapons trade,” Gamora said.

            “So many thoughts and emotions…” Mantis said, her antenna buzzing slightly as her powers fluctuated.

            Lylla took Mantis’ hand and smiled. “It’s okay, Mantis. Just focus on my feelings so you can stay calm.”

            The empathy gave Lylla a small smile as the team entered Corpos proper, marveling at the neon sights and flashing billboards that covered every inch of the planet. Aliens of all shapes and sizes hustled and bustled around between stores, Gamora staying on her guard for any suspicious activity. Being in such a populated place meant it was rampant with pickpockets and thieves, though unlike Knowhere the unsavory types on Corpos liked to hide their criminal activity behind false smiles and pressed suits.

            “There it is, Abnett’s Wares and Antiques,” Gamora pointed out to the team.

            “Looks like a shady pawn shop if I’ve ever seen one,” Rocket nodded. “Well, let’s get in there, take that Infinity Stone, and sell it to Nova Corps for some good units.”

            As the team approached the store, a pair of robotic guards suddenly blocked the entrance. “Halt. Permission to enter this establishment is prohibited.”

            “Excuse me, we heard there was an auction going on today. We are paying customers,” Peter said.

            “Entrance to Abnett’s Wares and Antiques is strictly prohibited for those with pets,” the guard said.

            “Pets!?! We ain’t pets, you bucket of bolts!” Rocket hissed.

            “We are fully sentient lifeforms,” Teefs added.

            The robot simply replied, “Scans indicate that you are illegally modified Terran animals. Any attempts to deceive our programming will force us to call upon legal action to remove you from Corpos.”

            “It seems as if these machines will not let us pass. I shall take care of them myself,” Drax declared.

            “That will just get us deported from this planet and leave someone else to take the stone,” Gamora said, holding Drax back.

            “This is flarking bull! They aren’t going to let us in because we just so happen to be genetically similar to Terran animals!?!" Rocket shouted.

            "Well I guess you guys will just have to wait outside then,” Peter shrugged.

            “Like hell I’m leaving you to try and negotiate by yourself,” Rocket said.

            Lylla took him by the hand. “Rocky, I believe Quill and the others can handle this. The rest of us can pick up supplies for the ship while they get the stone, okay?”

            “We’ve got this, Rocket. Trust me,” Quill assured.

            Rocket groaned but crossed his arms and nodded. “Fine, I trust Gamora to get this done.”

            “Hey!” Peter said.

            “We will see you again at the ship with the stone in hand,” Drax declared.

            “U-Um, may I stay out here as well?” Mantis asked. “I would be more comfortable staying with the friendly creatures than going in there.”

            “Sure, Mantis. You can stay with us,” Lylla said.

            Rocket looked to Groot, passing him over to Gamora. “Remember, if anything goes wrong in there, call me and I’ll bust down this place to get you guys out, okay?” the racoon said.

            “I am Groot,” Groot nodded.

            With that the team separated: Peter, Gamora, Drax, and Groot going into the auction house, while Batch 89 and Mantis left to go explore Corpos. “Friend Mantis, what we do first?” Floor asked.

            “…You want me to pick what we do?” Mantis asked in surprised.

            “Well, yes, Ms. Mantis. You have as much of a say in what we do here as the rest of us,” Teefs nodded.

            “Ego didn’t let me do much when he was alive…” Mantis mumbled.

            “Well we’re going to change that! As a Guardian of the Galaxy, you can do whatever you want- within reason, of course,” Lylla chuckled.

            “Yeah, and I’ve got my eye on some shops that look ripe for the picking,” Rocket grinned as he pulled up a map of the planet. “Some of these stores are know to be run by bigwig scumbags, so it’s no problem if we give ‘em a five-finger discount.”

            “I thought we were trying to be more on the straight and narrow as of late?” Teefs questioned.

            “Friend Quill say Earth had hero that stole from big money. If Earth hero can steal, why can’t we?” Floor rebutted.

            Rocket shrugged. “Can’t question that logic. You get first pick, Mantis.”

            Mantis looked at the map and hummed. “Um… Oh, is that a clothes store? I’ve always wanted to pick my own clothes.”

            “Alright then, Englehart’s Celestial Boutique, here we come!” Rocket declared.

Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me
I think they're okay

The group arrived at the boutique and got to work helping Mantis try on different outfits. The first was a green and yellow outfit with a grasslike skirt and large shoulder pads. “Very pretty, Friend Mantis!” Floor complimented.

“It may be a bit revealing if I’m being honest…” Lylla hummed.

“It’s very freeing,” Mantis giggled.
If they don't give me proper credit
I just walk away

            Mantis tried on a few other outfits, including a more covering bronze, black, and white attire, a completed armored outfit (“I can’t see very well out of this helmet,” Mantis said, before walking right into a clothing stand and knocking it over), a purple one-piece suit, and a fancy pink dress that Lylla picked out.

They can beg and they can plead
But they can't see the light (that's right)

Batch 89 got in on the fun as well, trying on a few outfits before making their way to leave.

“Hey, you have to pay for those!” an attendant shouted.

“Mantis, do your mind-power thing!” Rocket ordered.

“Um, okay…” Mantis said, touching the attendant and commanding, “Sleep.”

The attendant dropped like a rock to the ground. “There we go, free outfits for everyone,” Rocket grinned.

“Are you sure we should be stealing these?” Teefs asked.

“Englehart’s uses furs from illegal pelt trading. I’m not going to feel bad about it,” Rocket shrugged.
Cause the boy with the cold hard cash
Is always Mister Right

            “That was fun! Let’s do more shopping,” Mantis grinned.

            “There’s a smile on your face! You’ll be having fun in no time, Mantis,” Lylla said.

            “Floor pick next!” Floor exclaimed, pulling on Rocket’s arm to look at the map. “Let’s find new knives for Friend Gamora and Friend Drax!”

            “There’s plenty of black-market weapon shops around here. Been meaning to find some old Kree tech for a project anyways,” Rocket nodded.

Cause we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl

            And so, Batch 89 and Mantis went off on their shopping/thieving spree, pilfering the items of their desire before using Mantis’ empath powers to make a quick getaway. They caused a riot in the weapon shop by pitting customers against each other, blindsided a couple of workers in an illegal drug store by making one of them confess their feelings to the other (“He has been suppressing his feelings for a long time,” Mantis noted as they watched the two workers make out), and liberated an animal shelter of abused and illegally poached animals, which was very cathartic for Batch 89.

Some boys romance, some boys slow dance
That's all right with me

As they were all having a good time, Mantis’ stomach suddenly rumbled, making her blush. “Sounds like someone is hungry,” Lylla chuckled.

“Then the food court is our next stop,” Rocket declared.
If they can't raise my interest
Then I have to let them be

            The group proceeded to get some food, finding new dishes from all over the galaxy to try out. Lylla got large oysters from a planet covered completely in water, Teefs got a plate of artic sea cucumbers from an ice planet, Floor got a salad of mixed fruits and vegetables, while Rocket got… a hamburger.

            “What? Quill is always going on about these things, so I had to see if they were actually worth something,” Rocket shrugged to his friends when they gave him odd looks.

Some boys try, and some boys lie
But I don't let them play (no way!)

Mantis decided on getting a plate of spicy wings and, despite Lylla warning otherwise, she ate an entire piece of meat in one go. Instantly the empath’s face turned red as the spice hit her all at once, Mantis crying out as she jumped up and looked for something to drink. Batch 89 laughed at the scene while their friend ran around pilfering the drinks of other shoppers to try and quench her burning mouth.
Only boys that save their pennies
Make my rainy day

            When Mantis finally calmed down the group had an angry crowd of people coming after them, Rocket leading the charge as they made for a retreat to safety.

“Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl!” Lylla sang sometime later as Batch 89 and Mantis had found refuge in a karaoke bar.

“You know that we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl!” Mantis sang back.

“You got it, Ms. Mantis!” Teefs laughed as everyone sang along to the song.

Living in a material world
And I am a material girl
You know that we are living in a material world
And I am a material girl!

            After a day of shopping, shoplifting, and having fun, the group returned to the Benatar laughing and chatting amongst themselves. “Did you see the look on that guy’s face when Mantis knocked him over? Priceless!” Rocket laughed.

            “He was asking for it when he was he’d pay anyone that could knock him over in one hit,” Lylla giggled.

            “I’m still surprised you were able to take him down so easily, Ms. Mantis,” Teefs said.

            “Males tend to have the same weak spot. It was finding where his was that was the hard part,” Mantis grinned.

            “Floor had so much fun with friends!” Floor cheered.

            As the group got on the ship, they found the rest of the Guardians looking worse for wear and a bit ticked off. “Woah. What space whale spat you guys out?” Rocket asked.

            “It turns out that the “Infinity Stone” we had been told about was actually an M’Kraan shard,” Gamora replied.

            “M’Kraan shard? Like that powerful rock the Sh’iar worship? Sounds like something useful we could have sold and/or given to the Nova,” Rocket said.

            “Yeah, it would have, if Groot hadn’t blown our cover when he tried to steal it from under the dealer’s nose,” Peter said.

            “The dumber, smaller Groot clearly did not read my signal correctly,” Drax said.

            “Your “signal” was just you shouting “Take the crystal now, Groot!” Drax!” Peter said in annoyance.

            “To make matters worse, the Sh’iar showed up as we were about to get into a fight, followed closely by Nova Corps,” Gamora added. “The Nova said something about a string of robberies that had happened here on Corpos. Would you know anything about that?”

            Batch 89 quickly looked innocent as they hid their stolen good. “No…”

            “Whatever. We did get some compensation from the Nova, but this trip was a total bust,” Peter sighed.

            “We did pick up some new supplies. And I found an old tape for you, Peter,” Lylla offered, handing over the gift.

            “Is this Madonna? Sweet! Thanks, Lylla,” Peter grinned.

            “Let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough of Corpos for a lifetime,” Gamora sighed.

            As the Benatar took off, Mantis approached Rocket and sat down next to him. “Thank you for letting me be with your friends, Rocket. I had a fun time today.”

            “Glad you liked it, Mantis. You know, you’re pretty fun to hang out with too,” Rocket replied. The raccoon paused for a moment, shifting in his seat as Mantis continued to stare at him. “Uh, Mantis…? Is there something else you wanted to say?”

            “I wanted to ask about the small box you bought today,” Mantis said. “It’s the only thing besides the food you spent actual money on, and I can sense it brings you great joy and nervousness.”

            Rocket’s face felt hot at the mention of the box. He motioned for Mantis to come closer before whispering, “You know how I feel about Lylla, right?”

            Mantis nodded. “Yes. You have sexual feelings for her, but deeper than what Peter Quill has for Gamora.”

            “Yeah, Lady and I are mates, but I want to make it more official.” Rocket took out the box, smiling as he held it in his hands. “I need to make a few modifications before I can give this to Lylla, but I’m gonna propose to her so we can get married.”

             Mantis gasped before picking up Rocket and hugging him tightly. “Oh Rocket, that’s so sweet! Lylla would love to marry you!”

            “Hey-hey, not so loud!” Rocket squirmed in her grip. “But yeah, Lylla and I… she’s my everything, Mantis. And this thing is going to be the next step in our relationship. You can keep this a secret, right?”

            “I promise,” Mantis nodded, putting a finger to her mouth.

Chapter Text

“As a Watcher of many universes, I have seen few bonds greater than the power of love. And on this day, the love between Rocket and Lylla is about to grow stronger. I’ll let their actions speak for themselves- shall we see what happens next…?”

Lylla let out a relaxing sigh as she and the other female Guardians exited a spa on Xandar, the team checking in with Nova Corps while also having the day off from their duties. “Going to the spa was a great idea, Mantis,” the otter said.

            “I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lylla. I read that spas help people relax, and I can feel positive emotions radiating from all of you,” Mantis replied with a smile.

            “Floor feel extra fluffy,” Floor giggled.

            “I have to admit, it was relaxing, even if I would have preferred to not have others touching my body,” Gamora said, rolling her shoulders. “Still, the massage… it was nice.”

            “I don’t think my fur has ever been so shiny,” Lylla said, admiring her form. “Oh, but look at the time! The sun is almost setting.”

            “We were in there for far longer than I thought,” Gamora hummed. “The boys said to meet us at a certain place, right?”

            “Yes! Friends Rocket Teefs Groot Drax Peter are waiting at restaurant!” Floor nodded.

            “That’s right, Floor. They said we’d meet at Giffen’s,” Mantis recalled.

            The quartet found the restaurant soon enough, with Giffen’s turning out to be one of the most fancy and exclusive restaurants on Xandar. The girls were surprised when they were lead to a table where the boys were already seated, Rocket grinning as he spotted Lylla.

            “How did you guys afford a table at Giffen’s? This place is booked months in advance,” Lylla said.

            “Let’s just say that Nova Prime was able to pull a few strings as a thanks for all the galaxy guarding we’ve been doing,” Rocket replied.

            “Indeed. Now then, let us feast!” Drax declared.

            “We’ve still got to order our food first, big guy,” Quill said, shaking his head.

            “I am Groot,” Groot rolled his eyes, not looking up from his game. The tree was in his teen years now, meaning he was all kinds of moody.

            “Groot, no gaming at the dinner table,” Lylla chided, the tree-child giving her some sass before she returned the gesture with a motherly glare, making Groot sigh and put his game away.

            Soon enough the Guardians were all enjoying the best food Xandar had to offer, from seafoods and poultry to more exotic foods from all across the known galaxy. The team laughed and made small talk, with a few Xandarians even coming over to take pictures with the team or give their thanks for saving them from Ronan all that time ago. Their bellies became full of food and spirits as the sun set, the stars blink in overhead as lights lit up Xandar.

            “I can never get enough of just staring out into space at all the stars…” Teefs said in awe.

            “Yeah. Floor want to keep flying in the forever sky, to keep guarding the galaxy with friends,” Floor nodded.

            “Sometimes I just want to get lost out there and find a place no one else has been,” Lylla sighed dreamily.

            “I feel like that when I look into your eyes sometimes, Lady,” Rocket replied.

            Lylla laughed. “What kind of line was that, Rocky?”

            “Don’t blame me, blame Quill. That line was his idea,” Rocket defended, Quill just giving a thumb up and a laugh. The raccoon sighed, shaking his head getting up from his seat and tapping his glass of wine. “Okay everyone, I have something to say, so pay attention!”

            “Speech! Friend Rocket give speech!” Floor cheered.

            “Not exactly, Floor. I have something I need to tell Lylla,” Rocket said, turning his attention to the otter. “Lylla… from the day that HE brought me into his tortured existence, you were the first one to reach out to me, to give me comfort when I was hurt. When we all escaped together, I wanted nothing more than to live out the rest of my life with you guys, especially you.”

            “Rocket…” Lylla breathed.

            “And it’s not just about us being mates. No, I want to do more than just share a bed with you… I want to make our union official.” Rocket reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. Following the instructions Quill had given him, the raccoon got down on one knee and opened the box, revealing a shining silver ring inside with an intricate design etched into it. “Lylla Otter, will you marry me?”

            “YES!” Lylla practically screamed, tackling Rocket and furiously kissing him. “Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!”

            “L-Lylla, slow down!” Rocket laughed as he kissed her back, the other Guardians giving their congratulations at the proposal. Rocket managed to settle Lylla down, taking out the ring and carefully placing it on her robotic finger.

            “Congrats, dude! I’m proud of ya,” Quill said.

            “The freaky little beasts will so be bonded as I was with my wife,” Drax declared.

            “The happy feelings… It’s so beautiful,” Mantis said, tears of joy falling down her face at the overwhelming emotions.

            Lylla admired the ring on her finger, looking lovingly between it and her soon-to-be husband. “So, if we’re engaged now, when’s the wedding?”

            “Don’t most people wait after an engagement before getting married?” Teefs questioned.

            “Friends Rocket Lylla been together long time. No need to wait for marriage,” Floor shrugged.

            “There’s plenty of places out there to get married. It could take a while to choose the best spot,” Rocket pointed out.

            “Actually, there is one planet I’ve wanted to visit that I think would be perfect for our wedding…” Lylla hummed.

[***]

            One month later, on the 99.63% water planet Aladna, the wedding of Rocket Raccoon and Lylla Otter was brought in by precession of colorful dancers and singing throughout the city. The people of Aladna spoke only through song, so while it seemed like stepping into a perpetual opera, for the planet’s inhabitants it was simply their way of life. Rocket was currently standing at an altar that had been set up in the city, giving a perfect overlook of the world’s ocean.

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked.

            Rocket patted down his suit, a standard black one with a red undershirt and black bowtie. “What? I’m not nervous. This is going to be Lady and I’s best day ever! You’re crazy if you think I’m going to get cold feet now.”

            “Groot, make sure you keep the rings safe!” Mantis called out, the tree-child nodding as he showed her a pillow holding said rings.

            “The precession is almost here,” Drax said from his seat. “I still think we should have performed the marriage ritual of my people, however.”

            “Yeah, well, Lylla and I didn’t want to have to go out hunting on a backwater deathtrap of a jungle planet, so no thanks,” Rocket chuckled.

            “This is so exciting,” Teefs beamed, adjusting his own bowtie. “I’m so happy for you, Captain Rocket. Lylla as well.”

            “Glad I can have you as my best man, Teefs,” Rocket returned the smile.

            He looked out at the small crowd that had joined them for the wedding: the other Guardians, Kraglin and Sale, Howard the Duck, Cosmo, some of the Nova Corps including Dey and his family, and various other people Batch 89 had met across their journey. The only one missing was Quill, and the reason for that became obvious when the wedding precession finally reached the venue, Star-Lord leading the charge as they belted out one of his Earth love songs.

I wanna know what love is!

I want you to show me!

            Rocket’s jaw dropped when he saw Lylla coming down the aisle, the otter wearing a pearl white dress that flowed like water with every step, her mechanical arms coated in a new silver paint while a gold chain with an inlaid ruby sat upon her forehead.

I wanna feel what love is!

I know you can show me!

            Lylla couldn’t stop smiling when she finally reached the altar, Floor hopping behind her as the best woman. “L-Lady, I…” Rocket sputtered, only for his love to put a finger to his lips.

            “Save your words for our vows, Rocky,” Lylla giggled.

            “Wedding time! Wedding time!” Floor said in a sing-song tone.

             After Quill and the precession took their seats, Prince Yan of Aladna came forward to officiate the marriage. “Today we celebrate the union of Rocket Raccoon and Lylla Otter, Guardians of the Galaxy and friends to the people of Aladna,” the prince said. “Before you take your vows, would either of you like to say a few words?”

            Lylla went first. “Rocket, from the day we met, I knew you were someone special. You always thought of big dreams, and I wanted to be a part of each and every one of them. I know life hasn’t been easy for us, but I just wanted to say… thank you. For everything.”

            Rocket blushed at her words before saying his piece. “Lylla, you’re my everything. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you, or Floor, Teefs, Groot… all of you guys have become my family. You know I’d do anything to protect you guys, and once we’re married? I’m making sure nothing ever takes you from me, Lady. That’s a promise.”

            “Rocky…” Lylla said, almost coming to tears.

            “Is there anyone here that objects to this marriage?” Prince Yan asked. Sale raised her hand in a teasing manner, but Kraglin made her quickly put it down. “No? Then let us begin the vows ceremony. Lylla Otter, do you take Rocket Raccoon to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

            “I do,” Lylla nodded.

            “And do you, Rocket Raccoon, take Lylla Otter to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

            “I do,” Rocket affirmed.

            “Then by my position as Prince of Aladna, I pronounce you as husband and wife!” Prince Yan sang.

            Groot came over and handed the rings to Rocket, intricately crafted from space metals to be virtually indestructible. Rocket carefully placed Lylla’s ring on her finger, the otter doing the same before taking her husband by the hands and kissing him deeply. Rocket slowly dipped Lylla while their friends and family cheered, Teefs pulling out a handkerchief to wipe away his tears while Floor was bouncing around excitedly.

            “Now then, it is time for the traditional Aladnan wedding performance!” Prince Yan declared as the precession dancers stood up to begin.

            “You lead on this one, Lady,” Rocket whispered as they broke off the kiss.

            Lylla smiled, pointing to Quill and shouting, “Hit it, Star-Lord!”

            “Let’s get this wedding party going!” Quill exclaimed, holding up his Zune and turning on the song Rocket and Lylla and chosen for the ceremony.

            An upbeat rock tune started playing as Lylla took Rocket by the hand, racing down the aisle and followed closely by the precession dancers as their wedding song began. Soon the rest of the guests joined them while Lylla started to sing.

“I used to think maybe you loved me now baby I'm sure…” the otter sang, placing a hand on Rocket’s chest as she shook her tail with happiness. ”And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door…”

“Yeah, sing it, Lylla,” Rocket laughed.

Lylla did a small spin before throwing out her hands, cuing a few backup dancers to join her. “Now everytime I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down… Cause I just can't wait till you write me you're coming around…”

“You got the moves, Lady,” Rocket grinned as the chorus kicked in.

Now I'm walking on sunshine, wooah!
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!

The otter and raccoon danced as one, emulating what little dancing they’d seen on their travels across the stars to make a style all their own.
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!
And don't it feel good!?!

            “Peter Quill!” Drax shouted as he was dragged around by some of the dancers. “Is this not like what the greatest hero of your planet did to save his town?”

            “Something like that, Drax,” Quill chuckled, breaking it down on the dancefloor with Gamora.

            “This is the greatest day of Floor’s life!” Floor cheered as she hopped around.

Now it was Rocket’s turn to sing, taking Lylla by the hand as they started to waltz. “I used to think maybe you loved me, now I know that it's true… And I don't want to spend my whole life, just a-waiting for you…”

            “Rocky…” Lylla giggled, stealing a kiss from his husband.

Rocket grinned as he struck a pose, cuing his own backup dancers to follow his lead. “Now I don't want you back for the weekend, not back for a day- No, no, no!” The raccoon jumped up on a table and did a fancy Jackson-esque spin. “I said baby I just want you back and I want you to stay- Oh yeah now!”

The chorus came back in as more people joined in the celebration, Teefs doing his best to follow along with the beat while Groot tried his best to not be entertained by all the merriment.
I'm walking on sunshine, wooah!
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!

Rocket continued dancing without a care on the table while Lylla got a moment to dance alongside Mantis.

“The positive energy is so wonderful!” Mantis beamed with delight.
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!
And don't it feel good!?!

“Hey babe. Didn’t expect to see another raccoon at this joint,” Howard said, throwing a wink at Sale as the two had decided to raid the refreshment table.

“Back up there, bill-boy. This raccoon isn’t looking for whatever it is that’s hiding in your pants,” Sale shot back. “Not much of a hotdog fan if you know what I mean.”

“Had to try my luck,” Howard shrugged, sipping his drink. “So, how do you know the happy couple?”

“We were created by the same mad scientist, who then sent me to try and capture them,” Sale replied.

“Huh, I know ‘em because they caught me as part of a bounty. Small world it seems, being hunted or hunting,” Howard mused.

“I’ll drink to that,” Sale laughed, tapping her glass to his.

Walking on sunshine…
Walking on sunshine…

            The song picked up the pace a bit as Rocket and Lylla came back together in the middle of the dancefloor, the two circling each other and grinning like crazy.

“I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that's really real,” Rocket sang.
“I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that's really real!” Lylla repeated. “I'm on sunshine baby oh, oh yeah!”
“I'm on sunshine baby oh!” Rocket belted out as the chorus returned.

I'm walking on sunshine, wooah!
I'm walking on sunshine, wooah!

Rocket and Lylla waltzed together, spinning around each other in way that showed just how much they knew each other, matching every dip and sway with a step or twist.
I'm walking on sunshine, woooah!
And don't it feel good!?!

            “Say, Prince Yan. I thought the Aladnans all spoke in song. How come you can speak all regular like?” Kraglin asked.

            “I’m bilingual,” Prince Yan replied.

            “…Yeah, I suppose that makes sense,” Kraglin nodded.

            “The terran Guardian reminds me of my wife,” Prince Yan mused as he watched Quill and Gamora dance. “She is from Terra as well. I must apologize for her not being here on this day; her duties extend outside of Aladna.”

            “Huh, I’m sure Quill would be mighty interested in meeting another person from Terra,” Kraglin said, rubbing his chin.

            “She is renowned as a world saver. Perhaps the Guardians of the Galaxy will meet her one day,” Prince Yan shrugged.

I'll say it, say it, say it again now-
And don't feel good!
Now don't it, don't it, don't it, don't it, don't it, don't it feel good!

And don’t it feel good!

            The party went on until the sun was setting, by which time Rocket and Lylla had their fill of food and gifts from all of their family, friends, and allies. “All that’s left to do now is to head off on our honeymoon,” Lylla said.

            “And I have one last surprise for that,” Rocket said. He covered Lylla’s eyes and brought her to a secret spot in the city.

            When she was allowed to look, Lylla gasped at what she saw. “Is that…!?!”
            “Yeah, Lady. It’s our old ship,” Rocket nodded, admiring the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin in all of its refurbished glory. “I finally got around to getting the old girl out of impound from Nova Corps, and had Teefs and Sale fix her up for this special day. Do you like it?”

            Lylla simply replied by giving her husband another kiss. “I think I’ll show my appreciation once we get to our destination… You know what lovely couples do on their wedding night, right?”

            “Heh-heh, what did I do to get with a girl like you?” Rocket blushed as he walked his wife into the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin.

            “Be a kind, caring, a brave raccoon, my beloved,” Lylla answered.

“Friends Rocket Lylla be back soon!” Floor called out.

“The Benatar is in good hands, Captain Rocket!” Teefs added.

            Rocket and Lylla waved goodbye to their friends before blasting off into space, ready to enjoy their honeymoon however they pleased out in the forever sky.

Chapter Text

“Dear listeners, what is about to transpire is a collision of worlds the likes of which the Guardians of the Galaxy have yet to encounter. Thanos, the mad titan and “father” of Gamora and Nebula, has started his conquest of the universe to obtain some of the most powerful artifacts in every universe. Unaware of his advances, the Guardians are about to learn just how dire things are about to become…”

Got speed to move it

Get the rubberband off the ground

He lifted it weeeeeell up high in the sky y’all

And then he- Oh, get with it, y’all

            “Hey ya’ll, prepare yourself for the rubberband man!” Quill sang along to “Rubberband Man” by the Spinners as he flew the Guardians through the cosmos. “Sing it, Drax!” he exclaimed, though the warrior was fast asleep from the long flight.

            Rocket let out a yawn from his shared seat with Lylla as he stretched a bit. “Where are we going again?” the raccoon asked.

            “We received a distress signal, Captain Rocket. Someone could be hurt- or worse,” Teefs replied.

            “Floor want to ask why we’re going, though. Bit hazy on details,” Floor piped up.

            “Because it’s the right thing to do,” Lylla answered.

            “And maybe whoever sent the signal will give us a little cheddar cheese for our effort,” Quill added.

            “Which isn’t the point,” Gamora pointed out.

            “-Which isn’t the point,” Quill repeated. “But I mean, if he doesn’t pony up…”

            “We take his ship,” Drax said as he woke up in time for the conversation.

            “The Rakk ‘n’ Ruin could always use a few upgrades- and the Benatar too,” Rocket shrugged.

            “B-B-B-Bingo!” Quill exclaimed.

            “Boys…” Lylla rolled her eyes with a smile.

            “We are arriving,” Mantis announced.

            “All right, Guardians, this might be dangerous so let’s put on our mean faces,” Quill suggested.

            Mantis did her best mean face while Floor gave a soft growl. Groot, meanwhile, was not in his “angsty teen phase” as Quill put it, the tree-teen’s face stuffed into his game console.

            “Groot, we’re about to arrive at the distress signal. Please put your game away,” Lylla asked kindly. When he didn’t respond she tried again, “Groot, I won’t ask you again… Groot.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot said sarcastically.

            “Woah, language!” Rocket scolded as the others expressed disgust as the foul words Groot used. “You are not allowed to speak to your mother like that!”

            “I am Groot,” Groot stuck his tongue out.

            “Rocket and I raised you like our own child. You will not use that language with me, young man!” Lylla chided.

            “You have some acorns on you, kid,” Quill said.

            “Ever since you got a little sap, you’ve been a total d-hole,” Rocket growled. “Now keep it up, and I’m gonna smash that thing to pieces!”

            “Rocket, be gentle,” Lylla whispered.

            “Why? If he wants to act all grown up, then I’ll treat him like an adult,” Rocket crossed his arms.

            “We’re entering the area of the signal… now!” Teefs called.

            The Benatar pulled out of warp speed to the sight of a devastated ship, debris and bodies floating out in the void. It was clear that whoever had sent out the signal, the Guardians were too late to the call.

            “What happened here?” Mantis wondered.

            “Oh my God…” Quill said under his breath at the devastation.

            “Floor not like this…” Floor shuttered, moving to hide behind Teefs.

            “Guess we aren’t getting paid…” Rocket said, trying and failing to add some humor to the situation.

            One of the floating bodies suddenly slammed into the ship’s window, making everyone jump in shock. “I knew I should have installed wipers during the last tune-up,” Teefs said. The team let out another round of disgusted noises when the body opened its eye.

            “That man is alive. Quickly, bring him in for medical attention!” Lylla ordered.

            In short order the man was brought into the Benatar and laid out on a table, Lylla getting to work checking for vital signs. He was large and blonde with short hair and missing an eye, his armor looking like that of a Viking of some sort. “How the hell is this dude still alive?” Quill questioned.

            “He is not a dude. You’re a dude,” Drax shook his head. “This… This is a man. A handsome, muscular man.”

            “I’m muscular,” Quill retorted.

            Floor made an unsure noise. “Floor not so sure… Star-Lord eat more than work.”

            “You’re one sandwich away from being fat,” Rocket snarked.

            “Yeah right,” Quill scoffed.

            “It’s true,” Teefs nodded sadly.

            “You really should follow my meal plans I made for all of you,” Lylla sighed, trying to focus on her work.

            “Gamora, do you think…?” Quill turned to her, only for Gamora to not answer.

            “Mantis, what do you feel?” Lylla asked.

            “He is anxious, angry. He feels tremendous loss and guilt,” Mantis read the man’s feelings.

            “It’s like a pirate had a baby with an angel,” Drax noted.

            “It’s like his muscles are made of Cotati metal fibers,” Gamora observed.

            “People, please stop making Quill feel more self-conscious,” Lylla shook her head. “Mantis, wake him up.”

            Mantis put her hand on the man’s forehead and whispered, “Wake.”

            In an instant the man jumped up in a fright, back up on his feet and breathing heavily. Everyone pulled out their weapons in case of a fight as the man turned around slowly to face the Guardians of the Galaxy. “Who the Hel are you guys?” the man questioned.

            “…We’re the ones that found your sorry ass floating in space. You tell us who the hell you are first,” Rocket countered.

            “I am Thor Odinson, God of Thunder,” the man introduced himself.

            “Thor? Like the lightning guy on rock albums?” Quill questioned.

            “This is not some man from your music, Peter Quill. This is a god,” Drax said in awe.

            “You’re not going to turn out like Ego, are you?” Teefs questioned. “We’ve killed supposed gods before, be warned.”

            “He doesn’t have the same feelings as Ego did,” Mantis said.

            “Before we get into any conflicts, would Thor like to tell us how he got trapped out in space first?” Lylla chimed in.

            “It was Thanos that did this. He and his men took my people by surprise and massacred them,” Thor explained.

            The Guardians all tensed at that name. “Why would Thanos attack you? Even when we fought Ego, we barely got out of there by the skin of our teeth,” Rocket questioned.

            “He was after a great artifact of the Asgardian people: the Tesseract, or as he called it an Infinity Stone,” Thor answered.

            “An Infinity Stone? You let Thanos take an Infinity Stone?” Gamora said in alarm.

            “We fought him the best we could. Not even the Hulk was strong enough to stop him from taking what he wanted,” Thor shook his head.

            The Guardians all looked worried. “Thanos bad guy, yes?” Floor asked.

            “A very, very bad guy, Floor,” Lylla nodded.

            “Sounds like we might be on the same side, Thor,” Quill said.

            Thor was quickly given a blanket and some soup to help with his recovery, the Guardians all digesting the news that Thanos had an Infinity Stone in his grasp.

            “The entire time I knew Thanos he only ever had one goal: to bring balance to the entire universe by wiping out half of all life,” Gamora stated. “He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre.”

            “Including my own,” Drax noted.

            “If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers like this,” Gamora warned, snapping her own fingers for emphasis.

            “You seem familiar with this Thanos,” Thor noted.

            “Gamora is the daughter of Thanos,” Drax replied.

            Thor looked at Gamora with anger. “Your father killed my brother.”

            “Stepfather, technically,” Quill muttered. “And she hates him as much as you do.”

            Thor sized up Gamora before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Families can be tough. Before my father died, he told me that I had a half-sister that he imprisoned in Hel. And then she returned home and stabbed me in the eye, so I had to kill her. That’s life though, isn’t it, I guess. Goes round and round and… I feel your pain.”

            Quill put himself between the two. “I feel your pain as well, because… I mean, it’s not a competition, but I’ve been through a lot. My father killed my mother, and then I had to kill my father. That was hard. Probably even harder than having to kill a sister. Plus, I came out of it with both my eyes, which was…”

            Thor wasn’t listening, instead looking down at his spoon. “I need a hammer, not a spoon.”

            “Floor have hammer!” Floor said, offering one of Rocket’s work hammers.

            “I need a real hammer. One made for killing someone as powerful as Thanos,” Thor shook his head, moving to the back of the ship where the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin was docked. “How do I open this thing? Is there some sort of… four-digit code, maybe? Maybe a birthdate.”

            “Uh, what are you doing?” Rocket questioned.

            “Taking your spare ship,” Thor answered.

            “No you’re not!” Quill and Rocket said at the same time.

            “You will not be taking our spare ship today, sir,” Quill continued.

            “Friend Star-Lord, why voice deeper?” Floor tilted her head in confusion.

            “It’s not…” Quill shook his head.

            “You are making your voice deeper. You’re imitating the god-man. It’s weird,” Drax said.

            “No I’m not,” Quill muttered.

            Mantis gasped. “He just did it again!”

            “This is my voice,” Quill argued.

            Thor got up in his face. “Are you mocking me?”

            “Are you mocking me?” Quill parroted.

            “Stop it. You did it again,” Thor frowned.

            “He’s trying to copy me,” Quill smirked.

            “Enough!” Gamora groaned. “We need to stop Thanos! Which means we need to find out where he’s going next.”

            “Knowhere,” Thor replied.

            “He must be going somewhere,” Mantis said.

            “Thor means Knowhere, the severed head of a celestial. We went there before you joined the team, Mantis,” Teefs recalled.

            “Yeah, and it sucks,” Quill added. “We almost died multiple times that day…”

            “Thor, why would Thanos go to Knowhere?” Lylla asked.

            “Because for years the Reality Stone’s been safely stored there with a man called the Collector,” Thor answered.

            “That flarking hoarder already had a stone when we met him!?!” Rocket exclaimed in disbelief.

            “Only an idiot would give that man a stone,” Quill said.

            “Just going to leave out how we were going to sell him one I see…” Lylla said under her breath.

            “How do we know he’s not going to go after one of the other stones?” Gamora questioned.

            Thor explained, “There are six stone out there. Thanos already has the Power Stone because he stole it last week when he decimated Xandar.”

            “No…” Lylla gasped.

            “Floor have friends on Xandar! Can’t be gone…” Floor whimpered.

            “There, there, Floor. I’m sure Dey and some of other Nova are still alive… at least, what’s left of them,” Teefs said with worry.

            “He stole the Space Stone from me when he destroyed my ship and slaughtered half my people,” Thor continued. “The Time and Mind Stones are safe on Earth. They’re with the Avengers.”

            “The Avengers?” Quill questioned.

            “Earth’s mightiest heroes,” Thor clarified.

            “Like Kevin Bacon?” Mantis asked.

            “He may be on the team- I don’t know, I haven’t been there in a while,” Thor shrugged. “As for the Soul Stone, well, no one’s ever seen that. No one even knows where it is. Therefore, Thanos can’t get it. Therefore, he’s going to Knowhere, hence he’ll be getting the Reality Stone. You’re welcome.”

            “Then we have to go to Knowhere now,” Gamora stated.

            “Wrong. Where we have to go is Nidavellir,” Thor said.

            “That’s a made-up word,” Drax scoffed.

            “All words are made up,” Thor pointed out.

            “Nidavellir is real? Seriously?” Rocket asked with excitement. “That place is a legend!”

            “They’re said to make the most powerful, most dangerous, most horrific weapons to ever torment the universe,” Teefs said with similar enthusiasm.

            “I would very much like to go there, please,” Rocket said with a grin.

            “The rabbit and manatee are correct and clearly the smartest among you,” Thor said.

            “Rabbit?” Rocket tilted his head.

            “No, Floor rabbit! Friend Rocket is raccoon!” Floor shook her head.

            “And I am a walrus, Mr. Thor,” Teefs added.

            Thor ignored them and went on, “Only Eitri the Dwarf can make me the weapon I need.” He looked to Rocket. “I assume you’re the captain, sir?”

            “You’re very perceptive,” Rocket said with a wink.

            “You seem like a noble leader. Will you and the manatee join me on my quest to Nidavellir?” Thor offered.

            Rocket hummed. “Let me just ask the captain- oh, wait a second, it’s me! Yeah, Teefs and I’ll go.”

            “Wonderful!” Thor smiled.

            “Uh, except for that I’m the captain,” Quill pointed out.

            “Quiet,” Thor dismissed.

            “We’ll see you all soon!” Teefs said, giving hugs to Lylla and Floor as he opened up the Rakk ‘n’ Ruinfor Thor.

            “Lady, you’re in charge of keeping the team safe and alive while I’m gone,” Rocket ordered, giving Lylla a kiss.

            “Ah, the rabbit has a wife. Cute,” Thor mused.

            “Look, you guys can’t just… Wait, what kinda weapon are we talking about here?” Quill asked.

            “The Thanos-killing kind,” Thor answered.

            “Don’t you think we should all have a weapon like that?” Quill asked.

            “He does make a good point,” Teefs hummed.

            “No, you simply lack the strength to wield them,” Thor shook his head. “Your bodies would crumble as your minds collapsed into madness.”

            “…Is it weird that I wanna do it even more now?” Rocket said.

            “Just a little bit,” Lylla giggled.

            “If we don’t go to Knowhere and Thanos retrieves another stone he’ll be too powerful to stop,” Gamora argued.

            “He already is,” Thor countered.

            “Floor has solution!” Floor piped up, everyone looking at her. “Guardians have two ships, yes? God Man go with Friends Rocket Teefs to get Thanos-killer, and rest of Guardians go get stone before Thanos! Win-win!”

            “That’s… actually what I was gonna say. Good thinking, Floor,” Rocket complimented. “A lot nicer way of saying it, but it works. Teefs, Groot, and I will take the pirate angel and you guys get the stone on Knowhere. Cool? Cool.”

            “So cool,” Thor grinned.

            “For the record. I know you’re only going with him because it’s where Thanos isn’t,” Quill said.

            Rocket looked offended. “Then why would I leave Lylla- my wife, mind you- to go with you guys to face Thanos? Face it, Quill, splitting up is our best option, and when it comes to making god-killing weapons, Teefs and I are more useful going with Thor.”

            “The rest of the team is powerful enough in a fight without our firepower, Mr. Star-Lord. We believe in you,” Teefs assured him.

            “And besides, you really shouldn’t talk that way to your captain, Quill,” Rocket said smugly before hopping in the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin. “Come on Groot. And put your game down! It’ll rot your brain.”

            “I bid you farewell and good luck, Guardians,” Thor said with a wave.

            “Stay safe, Rocky!” Lylla called as the hatch closed and the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin blasted off. She let out a sigh and looked off into space with worry. “At least Groot will be safe and far from Thanos with them…” The otter didn’t know why, but she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that facing Thanos was going to be harder than anything the team had done yet.

Chapter Text

“Our brave Guardians have split in two: one group pursuing Thanos, the other a weapon to stop the mad titan. What they’ll find, however, is that this mission is more dangerous than any other…”

            Floor watched as Gamora flicked open a two-sided knife over and over again, the rabbit’s ears twitching with intrigue. “Pretty knife. Floor never seen that one before, Friend Gamora,” Floor said.

            “It was a “gift” from Thanos,” Gamora explained, placing the knife on one finger. “He said it was “perfectly balanced, as all things should be.””

            “Balance is good, yes?” Floor questioned.

            “Not the way he wants balance, Floor,” Gamora shook her head. She looked over to Quill who was trying to decide where he wanted to place some grenades on his person for their upcoming encounter with Thanos. “I need to ask a favor,” Gamora said to him.

            “Yeah, sure,” Quill nodded.

            “One way or another, the path that we’re on leads to Thanos,” Gamora stated. “If things go wrong… If Thanos gets me… I want you to promise me… you’ll kill me.”

            “What!?!” Floor and Quill exclaimed in shock.

            “I know something he doesn’t, and if he finds it out, the entire universe could be at risk,” Gamora explained.

            “What Friend Gamora know that so dangerous?” Floor asked.

            “If I told you, you’d know too,” Gamora shook her head.

            Quill approached her. “If it’s so important, shouldn’t I?”

            “Only if you want to die,” Gamora whispered.

            “Why does someone always have to die in this scenario?” Quill questioned.

            “Just… trust me, and possibly kill me,” Gamora insisted, she took Quill’s hand in her own. “Swear to me. Swear to me on your mother.”

            Quill looked at Gamora with surprise before giving a nod. “Okay.”

            Floor watched as the two shared a kiss, the rabbit wondering what dangerous information Gamora knew that would warrant such a promise. ‘Thanos want stones. Gamora know where to find stone?’ Floor thought. She then looked over to see Drax standing with a bag of nuts. “Oh, hello Friend Drax! Can Floor have nuts too?”

            Quill and Gamora stopped their kiss to stare at Drax. “Dude, how long have you been standing there?” Quill asked.

            “An hour,” Drax replied.

            “Are you serious?” Gamora sighed.

            “I have mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that I become invisible to the eye,” Drax explained, slowly eating another nut.

            The three watched in disbelief at the scene until Mantis and Lylla came in. “Hi Drax,” Mantis greeted.

            “…Damn it,” Drax cursed before walking off.

            “We’re almost to Knowhere. Everyone get ready,” Lylla stated.

            Knowhere was eerily quiet when the Benatar arrived. No ships were flying to and from the severed Celestial head, a there were no aliens to be seen selling their wares or mining in sight. “This place looks abandoned,” Quill noted.

            “I’m picking up movement in the third quadrant,” Lylla said.

            “I see it,” Quill noted. “Let’s put down here.”

            Everyone geared up for a potential fight with Thanos, Lylla holstering her laser pistol and staff while Floor twirled her favorite set of knives in her grasp. “Knowhere seems spookier than before,” Floor shuttered.

            “Let’s hope that most of the civilians evacuated before Thanos got here,” Lylla said.

            Heading to the Collector’s Museum, the Guardians snuck around the entrance, Quill halting their progress when a voice echoed through the halls. “I don’t have it,” the Collector said as Thanos antagonized him.

            “Everyone in the galaxy knows you’d sell your own brother if you thought it would add even the slightest trinket to your pathetic collection,” Thanos scoffed. “I know you have the Reality Stone, Tivan. Giving it to me will spare you a great deal of suffering.”

            Lylla felt her nerves creep up as she beheld Thanos in the flesh. He was taller than even Drax with a muscular build and a golden gauntlet on his left hand, the Power and Space Stones already set in the glove. ‘He made a device that can contain the power of the Stones without hurting himself? I bet Rocket and Teefs could make something like that if we had time,’ she thought.

            The Collector gasped as Thanos stepped on his chest. “I told you. I sold it. Why would I lie?”

            “I imagine it’s like breathing to you,” Thanos retorted.

            “Like suicide,” the Collector said.

            “You do understand,” Thanos smirked. “Not even you would surrender something so precious.”

            “I didn’t know what it was,” the Collector said.

            “Then you’re more a fool than I took you for,” Thanos said. “Last chance, charlatan. Where’s the stone?”

            “That’s him,” Drax whispered, eyes burning with rage at seeing the man that ordered the destruction of his people. “Today he pays for the deaths of my wife and daughter.”

            “Drax, wait,” Lylla whispered, her and Floor jumping on the warrior to try and make him see reason. “Thanos doesn’t have the Reality Stone yet, which means we can still get it, get out of here, and then plan a way to stop him.”

            “Yes, friends should play it safe here,” Floor nodded.

            “No,” Drax shook his head. “For Ovette, for Camaria-”

            “Sleep,” Mantis ordered, using her powers on Drax to knock him out. Floor struggled to set Drax down gently as he toppled over, the rabbit giving a squeak as he hit the ground with a loud thud.

            Everyone quickly moved into hiding positions as Thanos tossed the Collector into one of his own exhibits. “Okay. Gamora, Mantis, you go right.”

            Instead Gamora took out her sword and charged Thanos, the titan catching the weapon and snapping it in two. Undeterred, Gamora jabbed the broken blade into his neck before stabbing Thanos with her knife. Thanos clutched at his wound, looking down at the knife lodged in his chest and asking, “…Why?” before falling to the ground. “Why you, daughter?”

            Gamora didn’t respond, sobbing coming to her throat as she dropped her sword and clutched in on herself, crying as she was overwhelmed by emotions of both grief and relief at the death of the man that had caused her so much pain but had also raised her to be who she is today.

            “She… did it?” Floor said with disbelief.

            “Deadliest woman in the galaxy, right?” Lylla shrugged.

            “That was quick,” Quill noted.

            Drax soon started to wake up as the Collector began clapping, slow at first before erupting into cheers of “Magnificent!”

            “Friend Gamora did it!” Floor cheered. “Thanos is no more! We win!”
            “Rocket’s going to be disappointed he didn’t get to use whatever shiny new toy he’s off getting,” Lylla mused.

            Just as it seemed it was all over before it could begin, the voice of Thanos suddenly cut through the air like a knife. “Is that sadness I sense in you, daughter? In my heart, I knew you still cared. But no one ever knows for sure.” The world around them sudden was washed over by a wave of red energy, revealing the Collector’s Museum to be destroyed, the Collector himself even disappearing with a cheeky wave.

            “No, don’t tell me...” Lylla whimpered, ears going back as Thanos stepped out of the red mist.

            “Reality is often disappointing. That is, it was. Now…” Thanos held up his gauntlet, revealing the Reality Stone shining a bright red inside one of the slots. “Reality can be whatever I want.”

            “You know I’d come,” Gamora said.

            “I counted on it. There’s something we need to discuss, little one,” Thanos said.

            Gamora tried to grab her sword again, only for Thanos to catch her by the neck. Drax let out a battle cry and charged at Thanos, but a flash of the Reality Stone turned the warrior into cubes. Another wave of his gauntlet and Mantis was strung out like party streamers.

            “Our friends!” Floor gasped, jumping up and tossing her knives at Thanos, only for the titan to turn them into harmless balloons that bounced off his head. “…Those were Floor’s favorite knives…” the rabbit whimpered as she scrambled out of the way to try and help Mantis.

            “Let her go, Grimace,” Quill demanded, stepping out with his blasters drawn, Lylla at his side with her own blaster at the ready.

            “Peter, Lylla,” Gamora said.

            “I told you to go right,” Quill said.

            “Now? Really?” Gamora said as she started to cry.

            “Let our friend go!” Lylla shouted.

            “Ah, the boyfriend and his little sidekick,” Thanos mused.

            “Not a sidekick,” Lylla growled. “The medic, and I’m not afraid to put a few holes in you to save Gamora’s life.”

            “And I like to think of myself as a Titan-killing, long-term booty call,” Quill added. “I’m gonna blow that nutsack of a chin right off your face.”

            “Peter… Not him,” Gamora said. The two locked eyes as Quill recalled their earlier conversation. “You promised. You promised.”

            Quill lowered his blaster to aim at Gamora. “…Star-Lord?” Lylla said with shock.

            “Oh, daughter. You expect too much from him,” Thanos shook his head. “She’s asked, hasn’t she? Do it.” When Quill hesitated, Thanos shoved Gamora closer to his blaster. “Do it!”

            “Star-Lord, Gamora is our friend. Friends don’t hurt friends,” Lylla said.

            “I asked him to do it, Lylla. To make sure Thanos can’t use me again,” Gamora replied. She looked Quill in the eyes as her tears kept falling. “I love you more than anything, Peter.”

            “I love you too,” Quill answered, his breathing growing rapidly as he forced himself to take the shot… only for bubbles to come out instead before the rest of his gun dissolved as well.

            Thanos smirked. “I like him,” he said before opening a portal with the Space Stone and taking Gamora with him.

            “No!” Lylla screamed, firing her blaster into the portal, but it was already too late. As soon as Thanos was out of range Mantis and Drax returned to normal, but it was clear to the Guardians that this was anything but a victory.

            “Friend Gamora. Thanos was Friend Gamora!” Floor fretted with panic.

            “And he has three of the six Infinity Stones now,” Lylla said. “Rocket, Teefs, Groot, please find whatever weapon you’re looking for quickly...”

            Meanwhile on the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin, Rocket’s team was soaring through the stars to get to Nidavellir. “Teefs, remind me to fix the communications when we get back to the Benatar. I can’t contact the other half of our team to check in with Lylla,” Rocket said.

            “Aye-aye, Captain Rocket,” Teefs gave a salute.

            “I am Groot,” Groot complained.

            “Just tinkle in the cup we have in the back. No one will look,” Rocket answered.

            “I am Groot…” Groot whined.

            “Tree, pour the cup out into space then pee in it again,” Thor rolled his eye.

            Rocket and Teefs looked at Thor with surprise. “You speak Groot?” Teefs questioned.

            Thor nodded. “Yes, they taught it on Asgard. It was an elective.”

            “I am Groot?” Groot asked.

            “You will know when we are near. Nidavellir’s forge harnesses the blazing power of a neutron star. It’s the birthplace of my hammer. It’s truly awesome,” Thor answered.

            Rocket noticed the depressed tone in the god’s voice and sighed. “Time to be the captain,” he said to himself as he let Teefs take over flying the ship. The raccoon had dealt with many close calls with Batch 89 ever since they first escaped the High Evolutionary, and loosing Groot the first time was also hard on him. If Thor was going to be ready to face Thanos again, Rocket was going to have to be like Lylla and give the guy a pep talk.

            “So, dead brother, huh? Yeah, that could be annoying,” Rocket started.

            “Well, he’s been dead before. But no, this time I think it might really be true,” Thor replied.

            “And you said your sister and your dad…?” Rocket continued.

            “Both dead,” Thor answered.

            “But you still have a mom though?” Rocket questioned.

            “Killed by a dark elf,” Thor answered.

            “A best friend?” Rocket winced.

            “Stabbed through the heart,” Thor shook his head.

            “…You sure you’re up for this particular murder mission?” Rocket asked.

            Thor shifted his face into a smile. “Absolutely. Rage and vengeance, anger, loss, regret- they’re all tremendous motivators. They really clear the mind so I’m good to go.”

            “Yeah but this Thanos we’re talking about, he’s the toughest there is,” Rocket retorted.

            “Well, he’s never fought me,” Thor replied.

            “Yeah, he has,” Rocket rolled his eyes.

            “But he’s never fought me twice. And I’m getting a new hammer, don’t forget,” Thor pointed out.

            “It better be some hammer,” Rocket muttered.

            Thor sighed. “You know, I’m 15,000 years old. I’ve killed twice as many enemies as that, and every one of them would have rather killed me but none succeeded. I’m only alive because fate wants me alive. Thanos is just the latest in a long line of bastards and he’ll be the latest to feel my vengeance. Fate wills it so.”

            Rocket looked unsure. “And what if you’re wrong?”

            Thor’s face fell. “Well if I’m wrong… what more could I lose?”

            “Where I’m from, the bastard that created me only wanted me for my brain and tried to kill the rest of my friends, including my mate,” Rocket said, recalling his own past. “We went through a lot of shit out in the galaxy, and we even lost Groot one time like you lost your brother. But me and my friends keep on living, because the longer we’re alive, the more we prove that bastard wrong. I’m sure your family would want you to live too if they were here.”

            Rocket pushed a button on the ship to open one of the storage compartments, pulling out a robotic eye. “And well, if fate does want you to kill that crapsack, you’re gonna need more than one stupid eyeball. Some jerk lost a bet with me on Contraxia.”

            “He gave you his eye?” Thor questioned as he accepted the eyeball.

            Teefs chuckled. “No, he gave Rocket 100 units. He snuck into his room later that night and stole the eye.”

            Thor took off his eyepatch and popped the eyeball in. “Thank you, sweet rabbit.”

            “Raccoon!” the trio retorted.

            “Oh, and it looks like we’ve arrived!” Teefs said as the sensors started beeping.

            Thor slapped the side of his head. “I don’t think this thing works. Everything is dark.”
            “It ain’t the eye…” Rocket shook his head.

            As they approached Nidavellir, it was not the shining forge that Thor had described it as. Metallic rings surrounded a dead star, the thing looking like a dead planet of a lost age. Clearly something had happened to this once great forge since the last time Asgard had been in contact.

            “I hope these dwarves are better that forging than they are at cleaning…” Teefs said, sneezing a bit at all the dust in the air.

            “Do they even realize they live in the junk pile in the middle of space?” Rocket wondered.

            “This forge hasn’t gone dark in centuries,” Thor muttered.

            Looking around, Rocket noticed a peculiar-shaped mold among the discarded junk. “You said Thanos has a gauntlet, right? Look anything like that?”

            “I am Groot,” Groot cursed.

            “Get back to the ship,” Thor ordered just as a giant man double his size kicked the god away.

            “Hostile force incoming!” Teefs exclaimed, pulling out one of his cannons only for the giant to punt him into some junk. Rocket and Groot were also knocked around, caught off-guard by the sudden attack.

            “Eitri, wait! Stop!” Thor shouted.

            The giant paused and looked at the god. “Thor?”

            “What happened here?” Thor asked.

            “You were supposed to protect us. Asgard was supposed to protect us!” Eitri growled.

            “Asgard is destroyed,” Thor said as he stood up. “Eitri, the glove. What did you do?”

            Eitri moved to take a seat as Rocket, Groot, and Teefs recovered from the attack. “That’s a dwarf?” Rocket whispered.

            “I imagined them more as short, happy folk that sang songs about mining gems. Like what Mr. Star-Lord told about in his stories of Earth,” Teefs whispered back.

            Eitri looked to Thor with great sadness. “300 dwarves lived on this ring. I thought if I did what he asked, they’d be safe. I made what he wanted: a device capable of harnessing the power of the stones. Then he… then he killed everyone anyway. All except me.”

            “Another world Thanos has destroyed,” Teefs hung his head.

            “”Your life is yours,” he said. “But your hands are mine alone.”” Eitri held up his hands, now cast in iron and unusable.

            “Eitri, this isn’t about your hands,” Thor shook his head. “Every weapon you’ve ever designed, every axe, hammer, sword, it’s all inside your head. Now I know it feels like all hope is lost- trust me, I know. But together, you and I, we can kill Thanos.”

            “Yeah!” Teefs cheered. “For your people, Xandar, and everyone else Thanos has hurt.”

            “So, when do we get started?” Rocket grinned, thinking of the many, many weapons he’d like to build in the great forge of legend.

Chapter Text

“Gamora captured; the great forge extinguished… Thanos has made the Guardians’ mission much more difficult than before. But hope may arrive for our team as they encounter some of the Earth’s mightiest heroes…”

            On Nidavellir, Eitri lead Rocket’s group to a part of the forge where a block descended from the ceiling. “Oh, are we going to use a mold for this weapon?” Teefs asked with excitement.

            “A mold?” Rocket questioned.

            “Not all weapons are made by sticking scraps together- no offense, Captain Rocket,” Teefs explained. “This mold will let us use molten metal and create a new weapon for Thor.”

            “It is a king’s weapon. Meant to be the greatest in Asgard,” Eitri added. “In theory, it could even summon the Bifrost.”

            “Bifrost?” Teefs hummed.

            “The rainbow bridge that connects Asgard to the other Nine Realms,” Thor answered. He looked to Eitri and asked, “Does it have a name?”

            “Stormbreaker,” Eitri answered.

            “That’s a bit much,” Rocket shook his head.

            “I think it sounds neat,” Teefs said. “So, how shall we make this Stormbreaker?”

            “We restart the forge. Awaken the heart of a dying star,” Eitri replied.

            “Rabbit, fire up the pod,” Thor ordered.

            “Raccoon!” Rocket and Teefs replied at once.

            “I am Groot,” Groot shook his head, not looking up from is game.

            The Guardians sulked as they returned to the Benatar. Thanos had thoroughly beaten them with the Reality Stone and taken Gamora to who-knows-where. “Friend Gamora… we have to find Friend Gamora before scary purple guy hurts her!” Floor sniffled.

            “We will find her, Floor. Wherever Thanos went, Gamora is sure to be with him,” Lylla reassured her friend. The otter noticed a blinking light on the coms system. “Huh? Someone is trying to call us…”

            “Friend Gamora!” Floor gasped, rushing over and turning on the coms.

            “Floor, is that you?” the voice of Nebula rang out.

            “Friend Nebula!” Floor cheered.

            “Gamora’s murderous sister?” Drax questioned.

            “She did help us defeat Ego,” Mantis recalled.

            “Yeah, then she ran off to go try and kill Thanos. Clearly that didn’t work out if he’s still alive,” Quill said bitterly. “Rocket even sent her an invitation to the wedding and she didn’t show up.”

            “I was being tortured by my father for the location of the Soul Stone,” Nebula answered. “Guardians, if you wish to stop Thanos and get my sister back, you will meet me on Titan. We can discuss more there.”

            As the coms shut off, Quill got a spark of hope in his eyes. “Okay team, you heard Nebula. Thanos got the better of us this time, but now we know what he can do.”

            “The Mad Titan will pay for his crimes,” Drax nodded. “And what a fitting end for him than to kill Thanos on his own home planet.”

            “Nebula surely has information that will help us get Gamora back too,” Lylla added. She smiled as she took Rocket’s position on the ship and Quill turned on the engines. “Our next destination: Titan!”

            The Benatar took the nearest jump gate to the planet, its surface a dull orange and covered in the ruins of a lost civilization. “Looks like we’re not the only ones here,” Mantis said, pointing out a recently crashed ship.

            “We better check it out. Get ready for a fight, team,” Quill ordered.

            Lylla primed her blaster as they all embarked into the crashed ship. Her ears picked up three voices echoing through the halls. “We’re not alone,” she whispered. Grabbing one of Rocket’s bombs from her belt, the otter tossed the explosive into the room, creating a minor explosion and smoke as the rest of the team charged in.

            “Thanos!” Drax shouted, tossing one of his daggers at the nearest foe. The opponent, a human with a large red cape, help up his hand quickly and created a yellow barrier made of runes, blocking the projectile before launching his cape at Drax. The cloth latched onto the warrior’s face, dropping Drax to the ground as he struggled to tear it off.

            “Drax!” Floor gasped, rushing over to help her friend remove the cape while Quill took to the air.

            In pursuit of Star-Lord was a robotic-looking being covered in red and gold metal, launching missiles and energy blasts from his hands. Quill tumbled from one of the explosions but managed to grab onto the metal man and attach a magnetic trap to their chest, magnetizing them to the wall.

            That left Mantis and Lylla to handle the third opponent, a humanoid in a metal suit with a large spider emblem across his chest. Mantis reached out to use her powers, making the enemy scurry backwards. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Please don’t put your eggs in me!” the humanoid begged, flicking his wrists and covering Mantis in sticky webs.

            “Watch it!” Lylla shouted, making the enemy jump around as she tried to hit him with her blaster. The humanoid clambered around the room with metallic arms on his back, but when he tried to jump at Lylla, she changed tactics and tossed an electric bola his way, tying up and stunning her foe. “Way to steal Floor’s arms, by the way,” she huffed, unimpressed at his tech.

            “Die, blanket of death!” Drax growled as he and Floor tried to remove the cape.

            The metal man finally removed the magnet on their chest and flew down to pin Drax, using one hand to also grab Floor. At the same time, Quill picked up the spider-themed enemy and placed a blaster to his head.

            “Everyone stay where you are. Chill the eff out,” Quill ordered. “I’m going to ask you this one time: where is Gamora?”

            The metal man removed his helmet, revealing a human underneath. “Yeah, I’ll do you one better: whois Gamora?” he retorted.

            “I’ll do you one better: why is Gamora?” Drax interjected.

            “Tell me where the girl is or I swear I’ll French fry this little freak,” Quill threatened.

            “Let’s do it. You shoot my guy and I’ll blast this… weird rabbit thing,” the metal man replied, putting a glowing palm to Floor’s head.

            “My name is Floor!” Floor struggled against the man’s grip.

            The metal man tilted his head. “…Floor, seriously?”

            “Do it, Quill! She can take it,” Drax insisted.

            “She can’t take it!” Mantis and Lylla shouted at the same time.

            “She’s right. The rabbit can’t,” the caped man agreed.

            “Oh yeah? You don’t wanna tell me where she is? That’s fine,” Quill shrugged. “I’ll kill all three of you and beat it out of Thanos myself. Starting with you.”

            The caped man did a double take. “Wait, what, Thanos? All right, let me ask you this one time: what master do you serve?”

            Quill raised an eyebrow. “What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say, “Jesus”?”

            “The Guardians of the Galaxy serve no master,” Lylla added.

            The metal man blinked. “…You’re from Earth.”
            “I’m from Missouri,” Quill corrected.

            “Yeah, that’s on Earth, dipshit. What are you hassling us for?” the metal man questioned.

            “So… You’re not with Thanos…?” the spider-themed man mumbled.

            “With Thanos? No, I’m here to kill Thanos,” Quill replied. “He took my girl.”

            “Could we stop all this questioning and just talk like normal people!?!” Lylla shouted as she put her blaster away. “Clearly none of us are working for Thanos- in fact, it sounds like we should all be on the same side. So, how about you tell us who you are and we’ll tell you who we are.”

            “And the talking otter is the voice of reason,” the caped man muttered.

            Quill let go of the spider-themed man, who took off their mask to reveal a teenaged human underneath. “Well, we’re the Avengers.”

            “You’re the ones Thor told us about!” Mantis realized.

            “You know Thor?” the metal man asked.

            “Yes! Hot Space Pirate Man floating in space, but friends save him!” Floor nodded.

            “And where is he now?” the caped man asked.

            “Let’s get introductions out of the way first, then we can talk,” Lylla replied. “My name is Lylla, you already know the rabbit is Floor, the “bug-lady” is Mantis, the warrior you’re stepping on right now is Drax, and our fearless leader that just tried to shoot a kid is Star-Lord.”

            “In my defense I didn’t know he was a kid,” Quill raised his hands in surrender.

            “And you’re the Guardians of the Galaxy?” the caped man questioned.

            “Yeah, wizard dude. We saved the universe twice from both Ronan and Ego,” Quill said.

            “Are we supposed to know who those guys are?” the spider-themed hero muttered. He shook his head before introducing himself, “Uh, hey there, Guardians of the Galaxy. You can call me Spider-Man,” the teen hero introduced himself. “The wizard guy is Dr. Strange, and the guy in the armor is Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man.”

            “That was a great introduction kid, but I think we should refocus on the Thanos problem,” Tony said, clapping his hands together as he finally let Drax stand back up.

            “I agree. Nebula- she’s one of our allies- will be joining us soon to face Thanos. Let’s regroup outside,” Lylla suggested.

Everyone agreed with the plan and stepped out onto the devastated planet, the otter using a scanner tool to check the area. “Strange… The planet is eight degrees off its axis and the gravitational pull is all over the place.” As if to demonstrate the change in gravity, Floor and Mantis were happily jumping around with great leaps and bounds.

            “Yeah, we only have one advantage: he’s coming to us,” Tony said. “We’ll use it. All right, I have a plan- or at least, the beginnings of one. It’s pretty simple: we draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don’t want to dance with this guy.”

            “We just need to take away that gauntlet holding the Infinity Stones,” Lylla nodded. “If we work together, we could- Drax, are you yawning?”

            “Friend Drax, Man of Iron is trying to tell us his plan,” Floor admonished.

            “Did you here what I said?” Tony asked.

            “I stopped listening after you said, “We need a plan.” Drax answered.

            “Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page,” Tony shook his head.

            “See, “not winging it” isn’t really what they do,” Quill said.

            Parker raised his hand. “Uh, what exactly is it they do?” He gestured to Mantis, who looked similarly disinterested as Drax was.

            “Kick names, take ass,” Mantis replied, Drax nodding in agreement.

            Tony let out a deep sigh. “Just, get over here. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?”

            “You can just call me Star-Lord,” Quill corrected.

            Tony shook his head. “We gotta coalesce, cause if all we come at him with his a plucky attitude-”

            “Dude, don’t call us plucky,” Quill interrupted. “We don’t know what it means.”

            “Plucky, adjective, meaning having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties,” Lylla recited. The others looked at her funny. “What? I sometimes read the dictionary if I'm bored before bed. Anyways, I think your plan sounds good, Iron Man.”

            “I think so too, except it sucks, so let me do the plan and that way it might be really good,” Quill interjected.

            “Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe,” Drax suggested.

            “What dance-off?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

            “Oh, Floor remembers! Big Bad Ronan had Purple Stone, but Friend Star-Lord used his dancing to save the day!” Floor recalled.

            “There was also the big space battle, the Hadron Enforcer Rocket created, and Groot dying, but the dance-off was a big part of our victory,” Lylla hummed.

            “You mean like in Footloose?” Spider-Man asked.

            “Exactly like Footloose,” Quill said excitedly. “Is it still the greatest movie in history?”

            “It never was,” Spider-Man replied.

            “Don’t encourage this, alright?” Tony shook his head. “We’re getting no help from Flash Gordon here.”

            “Flash Gordon? By the way, that’s a compliment,” Quill said. “If you didn’t know, I’m half-human, so that 50% that’s stupid, is 100% you.”

            “Your math I blowing my mind,” Tony rolled his eyes.

            “Excuse me. But does your friend often do that?” Mantis interrupted, turning everyone’s attention to Dr. Strange.

            The wizard was meditating with green magic flowing out of his amulet, his head rapidly twitching in deep concentration. ‘He must be using magic. As in, real-life magic!’ Lylla realized, her tail shaking with excitement. ‘I’ve dreamed of such powers being real, but seeing it in-person is something else!’

            “Strange, you alright?” Tony asked. When the twitching stopped, Strange let out a huge gasp. “Hey, you’re back. You’re alright.”

            “What was that?” Spider-Man asked.

            “I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict,” Strange explained.

            “How many did you see?” Lylla asked.

            “14,000,605,” Strange replied.

            “How many did we win?” Tony added.

            “…One,” Strange said ominously.

Chapter Text

“In their time together, Rocket and Teefs have created many weapons and gadgets for themselves and their friends to use. But a weapon forged for a god was an entirely new field of work for the duo. It was a huge task, but one that they must rise to the occasion for if they wished to combat the power of Thanos…”

            Thor stood on the outside of the Rakk ’n’ Ruin as Rocket piloted the ship around the rings Nidavellir. With Eitri guiding them, Teefs was to help with the forging process while Rocket and Thor found a way to reignite the heart of the dead star. “I don’t think you get the scientifics here. These rings are gigantic. You wanna get them moving, you’re gonna need something a lot bigger to yank them loose,” Rocket said as Thor hopped down onto one of the rings, cable in hand.

            “Leave that to me,” Thor replied.

            “Leave it to you?” Rocket repeated in confusion. “Buddy, you’re in space. All you got is a rope and a-” He didn’t continue that sentence as Thor started swinging around the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin like a ball and chain, the raccoon inside screaming as he held onto the controls for dear Life.

            Once enough momentum was built up, Thor stopped swinging and let the ship pull him up off the rings, ordering Rocket to, “Fire the engines!” The captain did as he was told and turned on the ship’s repulsors, gaining them more speed as Thor dug his feet into the next ring they passed by, making the forge groan a bit. “More power, Rabbit!” Thor shouted.

            “Raccoon!” Rocket shot back but followed the instructions regardless. With their combined strength, Thor and Rocket broke through the space ice freezing the rings in place, the forge coming back to life as the dead star began to burn once more!

            “Amazing…” Teefs said in awe as he witnessed the rebirth of the forge. “This is the true beauty of Nidavellir…”

            “Well done, boy,” Eitri nodded to Thor. The focus of the forge opened up, drawing on the power of the star- but with a shutter and snap the focus slammed close, turning the forge dark once more. “Damn it,” the dwarf cursed.

            “”Damn it?” What happened down there, Teefs?” Rocket asked.

            “The mechanism that allows for the forge to heat metal is broken,” Teefs explained.

            “With the iris closed, I cannot heat the metal,” Eitri added.

            “How long will it take to heat it?” Thor asked.

            “A few minutes, maybe more. Why?” Eitri replied.

            “I’m going to hold it open,” Thor answered.

            “Mr. Thor, that would be suicide!” Teefs gasped.

            “So is facing Thanos without that axe,” Thor retorted. The Asgardian jumped into the iris, taking a strong stance before whispering a prayer, “All Fathers, give me strength.”

            “Do you understand, boy? You’re about to take the full force of a star. It’ll kill you,” Eitri warned.

            “Only if I die,” Thor replied.

            Teefs blinked in confusion. “…Yes. That’s what “killing you” means,” the walrus said slowly.

            “This guy is crazy…” Rocket muttered.

            Thor steeled himself and pulled on the latches, crying out in pain as the power of a star blasted over him and into the forge. Teefs and Eitri watched as the Nidavellir powered up, fires burning under the smelling pot. “He’s doing it! Keep going, Mr. Thor!” Teefs cheered as he readied his tools for the molding process.

            Once the metal was sufficiently melted, Eitri poured the molten substance into the mold, Teefs keeping it steady until it fully cooled. Meanwhile, Thor passed out from the pain, Rocket racing in his ship and firing out a grapple line to catch the god before he hit the ground of the forge. “Gotcha, big guy,” the raccoon said as he set Thor down and got out of the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin to check on him.

            “The hammer is complete! All we need is the handle,” Teefs said as he ripped open the mold with his mechanical collar.

            “Thor ain’t looking too good. I think he’s dying,” Rocket said. “Geez, now I wish Lady was here…”

            “He needs the axe,” Eitri said. “Where’s the handle? Walrus, tree, help me find the handle!”

            Groot looked down at the dying Thor and put on the brave face, knowing what he needed to do. Growing out his arm, the tree-teen pulled the axe head together, giving out a mighty roar before severing his own limb, completing the weapon. “I. Am. Groot!” Groot exclaimed, holding onto the stub of his arm.

            “Holy flark, Groot…” Rocket cursed.

            With the weapon completed, Thor’s hand twitched with lightning, and in an instant the axe flew into his hand. Power surged behind his eyes as his wounds instantly healed, and the God of Thunder had his weapon once more. “This… is a fine weapon,” Thor complimented, weighing it in his hands.

            “Stormbreaker. It suits you well, Son of Odin,” Eitri nodded.

            “Great. Now we can get to making us some new weapons as well,” Rocket said.

            “There’s no time, rabbit. I can sense that my allies on Earth need us,” Thor shook his head. “We need to go there now and ensure that the Infinity Stones there haven’t fallen into the hands of Thanos.”

            “Aw, I wanted to make something here in Nidavellir for myself,” Teefs sighed.

            “We better get back to the ship, then. It’s gonna take some time for us to jump all the way to the other side of the galaxy,” Rocket stated.

            “With the power of Stormbreaker, we don’t need your ship to make it back to Earth in time,” Thor said, holding up his axe. “The Bifrost will take us there in an instant.”

            “The Bi-what now?” Rocket said in confusion.

            “The Bifrost, the rainbow bridge between realms. It will be our transport,” Thor explained.

            “I am Groot?” Groot questioned.

            “It’s probably not a literal rainbow, Groot,” Teefs shrugged.

            Grabbing whatever weapons they had on the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin, the trio gathered around Thor as the god powered up Stormbreaker, and in a flash of rainbow light…

            …Meanwhile, in the secret African nation of Wakanda, the Black Order was invading the capital city in order to get to Vision, the android keeper of the Mind Stone. Both the Avengers on Earth and the tribes of Wakanda were putting up a valiant effort to hold off the hordes of Outriders, but their numbers were quickly becoming overwhelming.

            Suddenly, a beam of prismatic light shot down from the skies in the middle of the battlefield, Stormbreaker flying out in a streak of lightning and slicing through the Outriders that had pinned down Steve Rodgers (aka Captain America) and Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk, though he currently could not access his alter ego since his own encounter with Thanos). From the Bifrost stepped out Thor, recalling Stormbreaker to his hand as Rocket stood on his shoulder with Groot and Teefs at their sides.

            Banner laughed. “You guys are so screwed now!” he taunted the Black Order.

            “So this is Earth…” Teefs mused as he readied his rocket launcher. “It reminds me of the world that Sire once promised us… We must make sure Mr. Star-Lord’s home doesn’t fall.”

            “I am Groot,” Groot nodded.

            “Then let’s show these creeps what the Guardians of the Galaxy are all about,” Rocket grinned as he primed his blaster.

            “Bring me Thanos!” Thor shouted before giving a war cry, the quartet running into battle as the god jumped high into the air and brought Stormbreaker down, instantly vaporizing an entire group of Outriders.

            Rocket was having the time of his life as he fired at the Outriders left, right, and center. The raccoon had been itching for a real fight for a long time now, and saving the universe for a third time was just the thing he needed. “Come and get me, space dogs!” He cackled. Suddenly a human with a metal arm, Bucky Barnes (aka the Winter Soldier), picked up Rocket by the back of his uniform the two spinning around in a circle as they took out and entire platoon of enemies.

            “How much for the gun?” Rocket asked.

            “Not for sale,” Bucky replied.

            “…Okay, how much for the arm?” Rocket said with a grin. Bucky just shook his head and walked off. “Oh, I’ll get that arm,” the raccoon said to himself.

            Meanwhile, Teefs found himself standing alongside Bruce Banner, the two firing off plasma rockets and repulsor blasts respectively. “Amazing suit of armor you have there, sir,” Teefs complimented. “I never thought of making a mechanized suit up until now.”

            “Uh, thanks, talking walrus. My friend Tony is the one that made it,” Banner replied as he smashed two Outriders together.

            “Oh, where are my manners- the name is Teefs, after my most distinguishing feature,” Teefs introduced himself.

            “Bruce Banner. If you’re a friend of Thor, you’re a friend of mine,” Banner said.

            It was then that Sam Wilson (aka the Falcon) put out an urgent message on the coms. “Guys, we got a Vision situation here.”

            “Somebody get to Vision!” Captain America shouted.

            “Who’s Vision?” Teefs asked.

            “He’s an android made using the Mind Stone. He’s the reason we’re fighting this battle so we can destroy the stone before Thanos gets it,” Banner explained.

            “Say no more. Captain Rocket created devices to contain the stones, so let’s go get it,” Teefs nodded, using his mechanical arms and wheels to magnetize himself to the Hulkbuster’s back as they flew off towards Vision.

            The two dropped down in the middle of the jungle where Vision was being beat around by two members of the Black Order, Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian. “Oh no, this isn’t gonna be like New York, pal. This suit’s already kicked the crap out of the Hulk,” Banner said to the villains.

            “And you have a Guardian of the Galaxy to attend with,” Teefs added, aiming his rocket launcher right at Corvus Glaive while Cull Obsidian battled with Banner. The weapon-wielding alien laughed as he sliced the rocket in two, only to be blown away as the projectile spilt into multiple mini-rockets and hit him dead-on. “Bet you didn’t see that coming,” Teefs chuckled.

            The walrus hoisted Vision onto his back just as Captain America came running in. “Vision I- oh, you already have backup,” Cap said.

            “I’ll get Vision to safety, good sir, if you could take care of the villain over there,” Teefs asked as Corvus Glaive recovered from being blown up.

            “Leave him to me. I can do this all day,” Cap replied with a nod while Teefs made his escape.

            “No… the Stone will be ours!” Glaive snarled, only to cough up blood from Teefs’ attack.

            “As long as one of us is standing, Thanos won’t get his way,” Cap retorted as he jumped into battle.

Chapter Text

“While Rocket, Groot, and Teefs defend Earth alongside the Avengers, Lylla and her team of Guardians hatched a plan alongside Iron Man and his allies to stop Thanos. They only had one chance to make this work- and it would only be time before they could find out if Dr. Strange’s plan would bring them to victory…”

            From a blue rip in space, Thanos stepped onto the dead world of Titan. He had tracked Ebony Maw’s ship to his old planet, and with him one of the Infinity Stones. “Oh yeah, you’re much more of a Thanos,” Dr. Strange said, getting Thanos’ attention.

            “...I take it the Maw is dead,” Thanos guessed. “This day extracts a heavy toll. Still, he accomplished his mission.”

            “You may regret that. He brought you face-to-face with the Master of the Mystic Arts,” Strange warned. All around the location, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers laid in wait for the moment to strike.

            “And where do you think he brought you?” Thanos asked.

            “Let me guess: your home?” Strange replied.

            “It was. And it was beautiful.” With the power of the Reality Stone, Thanos bathed the land in an illusion of what Titan looked like in the past. “Titan was like most planets: Too many mouths, not enough food to go around. And when we faced extinction, I offered a solution.”

            “Genocide,” Strange said.

            “But random, dispassionate, fair to rich and poor alike,” Thanos retorted. “They called me a madman, and what I predicted came to pass.”

            “Congratulations, you’re a prophet,” Strange said sarcastically as the world was returned to normal.

            “I’m a survivor,” Thanos corrected.

            “Who wants to murder trillions,” Strange said.

            “With all six stones I could simply snap my fingers. They would all cease to exist. I call that mercy,” Thanos argued.

            Strange stood up. “And then what?”

            “I’d finally rest… and watch the sun rise on a grateful universe,” Thanos replied. “The hardest choices require the strongest wills.”

            “I think you’ll find our will equal to yours,” Strange said, taking up a battle stance as he created magic circles around his hands.

            “Our?” Thanos raised an eyebrow, but that was the cue for Iron Man to drop a giant piece of rubble on the Mad Titan!

            “Piece of cake, Quill,” Iron Man said.

            “Yeah, if your goal was to piss him off,” Quill scoffed.

            With a flash of purple Thanos destroyed the debris, then a wave of red transformed it into a swarm of alien bats that whisked Iron Man away. Spider-Man took the opportunity to hit Thanos in the face with a web ball, blinding him for a moment as Drax jumped in for a sliding slash at their foe’s knee. Strange conjured a magic sword and started tag teaming Thanos with Drax, but as the Mad Titan punched Drax away and caught the mystic sword, Quill came in blasters blazing for the save.

            Thanos kept his attention on Quill, giving Floor a chance to hop over the Mad Titan and attach an explosive to his back. “Boom!” Quill taunted, flipping the bird as he fell backwards into one of Strange’s portals as the bomb went off.

            “That’s a gift from Friend Rocket!” Floor giggled as he disappeared into her own portal.

            Strange sent out his Cloak of Levitation to rehabilitate Thanos’ gauntlet hand, then started opening up portals for Spider-Man to hop through and deliver a few solid punches to the face. “Magic… More magic… Magic with a kick… Magic with a-” 

            “Insect!” Thanos growled, catching the teenage hero by the neck and slamming him into the ground. He tossed Spider-Man into Strange before ripping the cloak off of his gauntlet.

            Just as he tried to counterattack, Iron Man returned to the battle with a volley of missiles, though Thanos sucked up the explosions and returned fire with a flamethrower attack. Spider-Man swung in for a web punch, but just as he was knocked away again, a spaceship came out of nowhere, crashing into Thanos and dragging him a good distance.

            “Uh… Was that part of the plan?” Lylla wondered aloud before a blue figure burst from the ship and landed a solid hit on Thanos.

            “Friend Nebula!” Floor cheered as Gamora’s sister had entered the battle.

            “Well, well…” Thanos mused.

            “You should have killed me,” Nebula spat as she brandished a stun rod.

            “It would’ve been a waste of parts!” Thanos shot back as the two exchanged blows.

            “Where’s Gamora?” Nebula demanded before being backhanded away.

            With another spell, Strange bound Thanos’ gauntlet hand in red bands, the Mad Titan trying to pry himself free before Drax came in with a slide kick to the knee once more. That was Lylla’s cue to toss out a gravity trap, pulling Thanos’ other arm to the ground while Spider-Man tied him down further with webs. Iron Man latched into the gauntlet to help Strange remove it.

            “Now, Floor!” Lylla shouted.

            “Sleep time!” Floor cried out as she and Mantis jumped onto top of Thanos, the former hitting as many pressure points as possible while Mantis used her powers on the Mad Titan.

            “It’s working… Now, Tony, while he’s sedated!” Lylla shouted.

            “Be quick! He’s very strong!” Mantis said as she exerted all of her power to keep Thanos calm.

            “Parker, Bugs Bunny, help me out here!” Iron Man ordered, Spider-Man and Floor jumping over to remove the gauntlet.

            “I thought you’d be hard to catch,” Quill taunted. “For the record, this was my plan. Not so strong now, huh? Where’s Gamora?”

            “My Gamora…” Thanos said in a daze.

            “Star-Lord, save the taunting for after we get the gauntlet off,” Lylla warned, pulling a cube off her belt that rapidly expanded into a carrying case. “This case should keep the stones contained until after we deal with Thanos.”

            “Yeah, and what then?” Iron Man questioned. “I’m not just going to let you guys take them off into to space to do who knows what.”

            “We’ll separate them again and hide them in places no one will ever find them,” Strange said.

            “Yeah, and that worked so well for the universe last time,” Quill rolled his eyes. “Where is Gamora, Thanos?”

            “He is in anguish,” Mantis stated as she read his emotions. “He… He mourns.”

            “What does this monster have to mourn?” Drax questioned.

            “...Gamora,” Nebula said.

            “What?” Lylla and Floor gasped.

            He took her to Vormir. He came back with the Soul Stone… but she didn’t,” Nebula said.

            “No… Not Friend Gamora,” Floor whimpered.

            Seeing a dark look come over Quill’s face, Lylla stepped between him and Thanos. “Star-Lord, listen to me. If Thanos did kill Gamora for the Soul Stone- and that’s still an if at this point- then we can use the stones to get her back. Right, Strange?”

            “It’s theoretical, but may be possible,” Strange replied. “The power of the stones affect reality itself. If Gamora was used to bring back the Soul Stone, returning it to Vormir may bring her back.”

            “That’s a big maybe, Doc,” Star-Lord seethed.

            “But we have to try! Just keep your cool or else Thanos wins!” Lylla shouted.

            “Almost… got it… Off!” Spider-Man shouted, and with one last tug the gauntlet and Floor were both sent flying a short distance away from the force of the pull. Everyone backed away from Thanos as soon as the gauntlet was off, Quill socking the Mad Titan for good measure as their struggle was done.

            “We did it!” Lylla cheered, running over to the gauntlet. “Okay Floor, all we have to do is get the stones in the box.”

            “Get stones in box, got it!” Floor nodded, her spider-like arms reaching out and pulling at the Space Stone.

            Nebula’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. “Floor, don’t try and remove the stones from the gauntlet by hand, or else-”

            There was a surge of blue light that surrounded Floor, a beam of energy that shot up into the air as the rabbit screamed out in pain. “FLOOR!” The Guardians all shouted at once.

            Floor looked at Lylla in terror, her fur peeling off, then her flesh, then her bones. “I… want… to go… home…!” Floor said before her entire body was disintegrated into light, the gauntlet falling to the ground.

            “Floor… Floor… FLOOR!” Lylla screamed in horror at her friend’s death, the world around her becoming muted as she stared dumbly at the gauntlet. She didn’t hear as Thanos stood back up, overpowering Drax and Nebula as he reobtained the gauntlet. She didn’t register the Mad Titan using the Power Stone on her friends before raining down meteorites on all of them, Spider-Man swinging in to grab her and pull Lylla to safety.

            No, all that Lylla could think about was how she had failed to keep the one promise she had always said she would never break. “Well run away together- into the forever sky…” Rocket had told his friends back on Counter Earth. ‘But now… Floor won’t get to be a part of that…’ Lylla spiraled inside her mind.

            As Strange was incapacitated and Iron Man made his stand against Thanos, Lylla found her sorrow turning to rage. It was because of Thanos that the universe was in danger. It was because of Thanos that the Infinity Stones were being hunted down. It was because of THANOS that FLOOR WAS DEAD!

            With an inhuman screech Lylla snapped out of it and ran at Thanos, pulling his attention away from the weakened Iron Man as the otter fired shot after shot at him. Every blast was merely deflected, and with a wave of his hand the ground below Lylla catapulted her up and into his grip. “Such a weak creature. My daughter thought you were best to guard the galaxy?” Thanos taunted.

            “You bastard… you’re the reason Floor is dead!” Lylla spat in his face.

            “The tiny one did that to herself. Only those that are worthy can handle the Infinity Stones,” Thanos retorted. The Soul Stone lit up on his gauntlet, Lylla feeling her spirit being pushed out of her body… alongside a formless light settled in her stomach. Immediately the effect was reversed, Lylla gasping as Thanos dropped the otter at his feet. “Interesting… perhaps when half the universe is gone, you’ll be one of the first to bring new life into a balanced world,” the Mad Titan mused.

            “W-What…?” Lylla gasped, paralyzed by fear as she let her hands fall to her stomach. ‘That other light… He used the Soul Stone on me and there were… two souls in me!?!’

            “Enough, Thanos,” Strange called out. “Cease this fight, and the stone is yours.”

            “…No tricks,” Thanos said. Strange shook his head.

            “Don’t,” Irom Man called out, but Strange simply raised his hands to the stars, pinching two fingers together as the Time Stone materialized.

            “Strange, you can’t…” Lylla whispered, but she was powerless to do anything as Thanos added the fifth Infinity Stone to his gauntlet.

            “One to go,” Thanos said to himself, disappearing into a portal just as Quill tried to shoot at him.

            “Did we just lose?” Quill asked in disbelief.

            “…Why did you do that?” Iron Man asked Strange.

            “We’re in the endgame now,” Strange answered.

            On Earth, Wanda Maximoff flew down to join Teefs and Vision when the android suddenly seized up. “Woah there!” Teefs said, setting Vision down.

            “What is it?” Wanda asked.

            “He is here,” Vision said as the Mind Stone on his forehead pulsed.

            “Everyone on my position. We have incoming,” Captain America said over the coms.

            From a portal Thanos appeared, everyone tensing as their greatest foe stood before them. Rocket readied his blaster while Teefs adjusted his rocket launcher. “Cap, that’s him,” Banner said.

            “Eyes up. Stay sharp,” Cap ordered.

            Banner charged in first, Thanos using the Space Stone to phase the Hulkbuster through him and into a stone wall. Cap was sent flying with the Power Stone next, Black Panther and Falcon getting subdued by one move each.

            “…Wanda, it’s time,” Vision said.

            Wanda shook her head. “No…”

            “They can’t stop him, Wanda, but we can,” Vision said. “Look at me. You have the power to destroy the stone. You must do it Wanda, please. We are out of time.”

            “I can’t,” Wanda whispered.

            “You can,” Vision nodded, holding her hand tightly. “If he gets the stone, half the universe dies. It’s not fair. It shouldn’t be you, but it is. It’s all right. You could never hurt me… I just feel you.”

            Teefs watched as Wanda used her powers on the Mind Stone, the bond between the two reminding him of the bond he sees in Rocket and Lylla. The walrus steeled himself and charged at Thanos, hoping to by Wanda enough time to render the Mind Stone nothing but dust.

            The other Avengers gave it their all as well: War machine’s armor was crushed, Bucky’s gun and Okoye’s spear were ineffective. Not even Groot’s vines, Black Widow’s taser dart, or Rocket’s bombs could stop the Mad Titan. Teefs charged in and was roughly tossed into a tree by Thanos, Captain America being their last line of defense as Wanda poured all of her power into the Mind Stone. With one last push and an affirmation of Vision’s love for her, Wanda managed to crack the Mind Stone, an explosion of yellow light bathing the jungle as it exploded.

            Thanos looked down at Wanda, the girl out of breath and drained of all the fight left in her. “I understand, child, better than anyone.”

            “You could never,” Wanda spat.

            “Today I lost more than you can know. But now is not the time to mourn. Now is no time at all.” Thanos used the power of the Time Stone, reversing the last minute of time, Vision’s body reforming right before their eyes. He picked up the android by the throat and tore the Infinity Stone from his forehead, disposing of the body before completing his gauntlet, power coursing through his entire body as he shouted.

            It was then that Thor arrived, blasting down lightning from the sky at Thanos. The god tossed Stormbreaker at the Mad Titan, the mighty axe cutting through Thanos’ counterattack and lodging in his chest as Thor landed. “I told you… You die for that,” Thor as he pushed Stormbreaker further into his enemy’s chest.

            Thanos groaned in pain, but he had only one reply for Thor. “You should have gone for the head.” He raised his gauntlet and-

SNAP!

            After a flash of white, Thor stared in disbelief at Thanos, the gauntlet charred and smoking on his hand. “What did you do…? What did you do!?!” the god yelled.

            Thanos didn’t answer, simply using the Space Stone to teleport away, leaving Stormbreaker to fall to the ground with a thud.

            “Where did he go?” Cap asked. “Thor? Where’d he go?”

            “Steve…?” Bucky called out, his body turning to dust before his weapon fell from his hands, nothing left of him remaining.

            “What the flark…?” Rocket cursed, not understanding what he just witnessed.

            “Rocket…” Teefs called out, the walrus looking at his flipper as bits of dust started to float away.

            “Teefs? Teefs!” Rocket exclaimed, rushing to his friend’s side.

            “You need to find Lylla and Floor. Make sure they’re…” Teefs said in a panic before he too turned to dust.

            “No… No, no, no, no! This can’t be happening!” Rocket shook his head, his breath becoming quick as his worst fears started coming true.

            “I am Groot…” Groot called out, his body starting to turn to dust as well.

            “No, not Groot too. No!” Rocket said, running to the tree ten but barely brushing his face before Groot faded away as well. The raccoon fell to his knees, tears already falling from his eyes as he did the only thing he could think of- scream.

            On Titan, the Guardians and Avengers regrouped after their loss, Lylla still emotionally distraught after both the loss of Floor and the revelation of the second soul in her body. She felt a shiver go up her spine, a feeling that something in the universe had fundamentally changed.

            “Something’s happening,” Mantis said before she suddenly turned to dust.

            “Quill?” Drax called out as too was dusted.

            “Mantis, Drax… Star-Lord!” Lylla exclaimed as she saw dust coming off their human leader.

            “Ah man…” was all Quill could say as he turned to dust.

            Lylla was crying again, but her tears turned to anger as she glared at Dr. Strange. “You said we had one chance to win! So why!?! Why did he win after all we did to stop him!?!”

            “Tony, Lylla… There was no other way,” Strange stated before he was dusted as well.

            “Mr. Stark?” Spider-Man called out. “I don’t feel so good…”

            “No, not the kid…” Lylla whimpered, running towards nebula and grabbing onto the cyborg as if to ensure that she didn’t turn to dust as well. Lylla couldn’t bear to watch as she heard Spider-Man call out for his own life in Iron Man’s arms. The otter was at her lowest point: she was lightyears away from her beloved raccoon who may or may not be dead at this point, and she’d watched as most of her family had been torn away from her in an instant, cruel act of pure evil. Lylla couldn’t handle it anymore and did the only thing she could- scream.

            “On two different planets, far apart from each other, two screams rang out across the galaxy. Screams filled with pan, despair, and heartbreak as everything they’d known and loved had been taken from them with just a single snap. And as they screamed, the universe screamed with them…”

Chapter Text

“With one simple action, half the universe’s population was gone. It’s a moment I’ve seen many times as a Watcher, but this is first time I’ve seen it where Rocket Raccoon’s friends still lived. Separated from his mate, Rocket can only hope that Lylla is still alive out there- and the otter in question hopes the same as she, Nebula, and their newest ally make a desperate attempt to get to Earth…”

            Onboard the Benatar, Lylla watched sullenly as Tony Stark (Iron Man’s real name) and Nebula played tabletop football- or at least, Stark was attempting to teach Nebula to play the game. The cyborg woman instinctually tried to grab the paper triangle out of the air every time Stark flicked it at her. Melancholy music played from the ship’s sound system as Nebula once again slapped the “ball” from the air.

            “You really don’t need to do that because you’re just holding the position,” Tony said. He made his fingers into the goalpost and let Nebula have a turn flicking the ball, her shot going way off to the side. “…That was close.”

            Nebula tried a few more times until she finally made a shot between the posts. “That’s one Nebula, one Tony,” Lylla sighed.

            The two went back and forth, making goals until Nebula made one more point than Tony, winning the game. “Did you have fun?” he asked, holding out a hand to her.

            Nebula shook it. “It was fun. Lylla, face me next.”

            “Maybe next time, Nebula,” Lylla muttered, getting up from the table and wandering over to the ship’s controls. They were on autopilot at the moment, course set to Earth at a snail’s pace due to the Benatar’sextensive damage from their battle on Titan. No jump gates, damaged life support… “Rocky, I hope you’re still out there somewhere with the others…” she whispered to herself.

            The sound of something clicking on turned her attention behind herself, seeing Tony sit himself down in front of his Iron Man helmet. The remaining nanotech of his suit was only enough to sustain the helmet, with which the human had been recording messages. Lylla stayed quiet as Tony began to speak:

            “This thing on…? Hey, Miss Potts. Pep. If you find this recording… don’t post it on social media. It’s gonna be a real tearjerker. I don’t know if you’re ever gonna see these. I don’t even know if you’re still… Oh God, I hope so. Today’s Day 21? No, uh, 22. You know, if it wasn’t for the existential terror of staring into the literal void of space, I’d say I’m feeling a little better today.

            “Infection’s run its course thanks to the talking space otter over there. Oh, you’d love her. Very adorable, and only a tiny bit sarcastic. We’ve been working with the Blue Meanie back there to try and fix the ship… The fuel cells were cracked during the battle, and we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge and bought ourselves about 48 hours of flight time. Uh, but it’s now dead in the water. Thousand lightyears from the nearest 7-Eleven. Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning… and that’ll be it.

            “Pep, I know I said no more surprises, but I gotta say I was really hoping to pull of one last one. But it looks like… Well, you know what it looks like. Don’t feel bad about this. I mean, actually, if you grovel for a couple weeks… and then more on with enormous guilt… I should probably lie down for a minute. Go rest my eyes. Please know… when I drift off, it’ll be like every night lately. I’m fine. Totally fine. I dream about you. Because it’s always you.”

            Tony turned off the helmet to end the recording, laying on the ground and closing his eyes. Silently, Nebula and Lylla moved the human into one of the chairs, his jacket wrapped around him for warmth. His speech had brought tears to Lylla’s eyes, as they had every night Tony recorded a message for Miss Potts. She didn’t know the woman at all, but the way he spoke about her reminded Lylla of how she felt about Rocket.

            ‘Neither of us may see our soulmates again…’ Lylla thought, a hand going to her stomach. ‘Oh Rocky, how I wish we could be together right now so I could tell you about…’

            Suddenly, outside of the window, a bright light floated into view. Lylla swore it looked like one of the angels Quill had told her about. She looked near human, with an ethereal glow around her body as she floated in space, radiant energy spilling off her form. “Who… who are you?” Lylla gasped.

            “My name is Carol Danvers. The Avengers sent me to help,” the angel said, giving a small smile.

            It had been a somber past few days for Rocket. Stuck on Earth with only Thor as a familiar face, the raccoon had left with the Avengers back to their base in America. Rocket had given them the basics of who he was (Guardian of the Galaxy, illegal genetic experiment, team leader) but mostly kept to himself. He cried a lot in that time, too, clutching tightly to his communicator in hopes that Lylla or anyone else on the team would reach out to him.

            The other day, a human woman in wat Rocket recognized as a modified Kree uniform arrived on the planet, looking for someone called Nick Fury. Her name was Carol Danvers, an old friend of Fury’s who’d received a distress signal from the man. The Avengers explained to Carol what had happened with Thanos, with Rocket providing her the information that the other Guardians had gone to Titan and never returned. The space woman promised to go look for them there, and all Rocket had left was hope that his family was still alive out there.

            Late in the night, a low rumble in the air made Rocket’s ears perk up. The raccoon ran outside, looking up to see Carol flying down with the Benatar in her grasp. “She did it… She actually flarking did it…!” Rocket said, a tearful smile coming to his face as Carol set the ship down.

            Rocket was the first to run towards the Benatar was the exit ramp came down, the raccoon practically launching himself into Lylla’s arms, the two spinning as they held tightly in an embrace. “LYLLA!” Rocket cried. “I’m never leaving you again! I thought I- I thought…”

            Lylla kissed him on the nose. “I thought I wasn’t going to see you again, too,” she answered, pressing her forehead to his. “…On Titan, we tried to stop Thanos, but… Floor died before my eyes, Rocket, and the others… Only Nebula is left.”

            “I watched Groot and Teefs turn to dust,” Rocket replied. He looked up at Nebula, the cyborg taking a seat on the ramp. “Thanks for keeping my lady safe.”

            Nebula simply nodded, the two animals taking a seat beside her as they took a moment. The Avengers greeted their friend, Tony, as well, one female with red hair in particular giving him a kiss. “That must be Pepper,” Lylla noted. “Tony’s wife. He’s kinda like you, Rocky, but with armor instead of guns.” The otter shifted, wondering if she should tell him about the two souls inside of her… but thought against it for now. They needed time to recover before discussing that topic.

            Eventually everyone regrouped inside the Avengers base, the human called Rhodey giving everyone a briefing on what had been going down recently. “It’s been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth,” he said.

            “World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census and it looks like he did…” Natasha, the Avenger known as Black Widow, said. “He did exactly as he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out 50% of all living creatures.”

            “…Where is he now? Where?” Tony asked.

            “We don’t know. He just opened a portal and walked through,” Steve answered.

            Lylla looked over at Thor, the god contemplative and silent. “What’s wrong with Thor?”

            “He’s pissed. He thinks he failed,” Rocket replied. “Which of course he did, but there’s a lot of that going around, ain’t there?”

            Tony looked at Rocket, doing a double take. “You’re the Rocky Lylla was talking about? I thought you’d be…?”

            “An otter like her? Rocket’s the name, don’t forget it,” Rocket snarked.

            “We’ve been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans and satellites, and we got nothing,” Steve continued the briefing. “Tony, you fought him.”

            “Who told you that?” Tony questioned. “I didn’t fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleeker Street Magician gave away the store. That’s what happened. There was no fight, ‘cause he’s not beatable.”

            “Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?” Steve asked.

            Tony shook his head. “I had a vision, a few years back. I didn’t want to believe it. Thought I was dreaming.”

            “Tony, I’m gonna need you to focus-” Steve started.

            “And I needed you. As in, past tense. That trumps what you need. It’s too late, buddy,” Tony spat, slamming the table. “You know what I need? I need a shave. And I believe I remember telling you all youse, alive and otherwise, that what we needed was a suit of armor around the world. Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not. That’s what we needed.”

            “Well that didn’t work out, did it?” Steve said.

            “I said we’d lose. You said, “We’ll do that together, too.” And guess what Cap? We lost. And you weren’t there,” Tony retorted. “But that’s what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We’re the “Avengers.” Not the “Pre-vengers.”

            Rocket and Lylla shuffled in their seats awkwardly. Both of them only knew bits and pieces of what the Avengers had done for Earth from their time spent with them, and clearly there was tension between Tony and Steve. Tony continued to chew out Steve before collapsing from exhaustion, his time in space having done a number on his body. Lylla was silently thankful her augmentations let her survive longer than most organic beings, one of the few things she could say her “creator” had ever done for her.

            Pepper stayed by Tony’s side as they put him in bed, everyone else contemplating what their next action should be. “You guys take care of him, and I’ll bring him a Xorrian elixir when I come back,” Carol said, walking off.

            “Where are you going?” Steve asked.

            “To kill Thanos,” Carol replied.

            Natasha called out to her, “Hey. You know, we usually work as a team here and, uh, between you and I, morale’s a little fragile.”

            “We realize up there is more your territory, but this is our fight too,” Steve added.

            “Do you even know where he is?” Rhodey questioned.

            “I know people who might,” Carol said.

            “Don’t bother. I can tell you where Thanos is,” Nebula said as she walked into the room. “Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. And when we worked, he talked about his Great Plan. Even dissembled, I wanted to please him. I’d ask where would we go when his plan was complete? And his answer was always the same, “To the Garden.””

            “That’s cute. Thanos has a retirement plan,” Rhodey snarked.

            “So where is he?” Steve asked.

            Rocket stepped out, producing a holo-map of the universe. “When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one’s ever seen anything like it. Until two days ago, on this planet.” He pointed out a planet on the far side of the galaxy.

            “Thanos is there,” Nebula nodded.

            “He used the stones again,” Natasha put together.

            “We’d be going in shorthanded, you know?” Banner pointed out.

            “He does still have the stones…” Lylla frowned.

            “So let’s get him,” Carol shrugged. “Use them to bring everyone back.”

            “Just like that?” Banner questioned.

            “Yeah. Just like that,” Steve nodded.

            “Even if there’s a small chance that we can undo this… I mean, we owe it to everyone who’s not in this room to try,” Natasha agreed.

            “If we do this, how can we know it’s going to end any differently than before?” Banner argued.

            “Because before you didn’t have me,” Carol answered.

            Hey new girl, everyone in this room has been superheroing for a long time. Where the hell have you been this entire time?” Rhodey asked.

            “There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn’t have you guys,” Carol replied.

            Thor stood up from his seat, summoning Stormbreaker an inch from Carol’s face. When she didn’t flinch, the god and space hero shared a knowing smirk. “I like this one,” Thor said.

            “Let’s go get this son of a bitch,” Steve said, the decision final as what remained of the Avengers assembled to save the universe once more.

            After making some repairs to the Benatar, the team blasted off to where the infinity energy had been detected. Carol did a quick recon flight over the planet once they arrived to confirm that only Thanos stood to oppose them on the surface. Once a plan was made, they executed it without mercy. Thanos didn’t know what hit him: Carol went in first, firing her cosmic blast before putting the titan in a headlock. Banner and Rhodey went in next, using the Hulkbuster and War Machine armors respectively to pin down his arms. Finally, Thor struck true with his axe, severing the gauntlet from Thanos’ body.

            Rocket and Lylla entered the hut alongside Steve and Natasha, the two animals securing the gauntlet… only to find the stones were missing. “Oh no…” Rocket said, Lylla covering her mouth in a gasp.

            “Where are they?” Steve asked Thanos.

            “Carol tightened her grip on the titan’s neck. “Answer the question.”

            “The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose besides temptation,” Thanos explained.

            “You murdered trillions!” Banner shouted, pushing Thanos over.

            “You should be grateful,” Thanos said, getting a punch to the face for his troubles.

            “Where are the stones?” Natasha demanded.

            “Gone. Reduced to atoms,” Thanos answered.

            “You used them two days ago!” Lylla pointed out.

            “I used the stones to destroy the stones,” Thanos replied. “It nearly killed me, but now the work is done. It always will be. I am inevitable.”

            “We have to tear this place apart. He must be lying,” Rhodey argued.

            “My father is many things; a liar is not one of them,” Nebula shook her head.

            “Thank you, daughter,” Thanos said. “Perhaps I treated you too harshly.”

            In a rage Thor lashed out, severing Thanos’ head from his body.

            “Thor… what did you do?” Rocket said in shock.

            “…I went for the head,” Thor replied, saying nothing else as he left the hut.

            Everyone returned to Earth after that, feeling well and truly defeated. The stones were lost, and Thanos had gotten what he wanted, with no way of reversing it. Even with a repaired ship, Rocket and Lylla were hesitant to get back out there as the only two remaining Guardians of the Galaxy (Nebula was practically part of the team now, but they hadn’t asked if she wanted to stay after everything that had gone down involving her father). The two were offered a room at the Avengers base, which they gladly took until they knew for certain what their next steps should be.

            A few days later, Lylla stepped out of a medical checkup with Dr. Banner, Rocket waiting for her outside. “How’s she looking, doc?” Rocket asked.

            “Well, I’m not exactly a medical doctor, and I have even less experience with… non-humans,” Banner replied. “But the equipment we have here at the base I can say she’s fully recovered from whatever effects her time stranded in space may have had on her.”

            “That’s great!” Rocket smiled, giving his mate a hug.

            “There’s uh, also… something else…” Banner stuttered. “But I’ll, uh, let Lylla tell you that part.”

            Rocket looked at Lylla curiously. “Rocky… remember the fun time we had during our honeymoon?”

            “How could I forget?” Rocket chuckled. “One of the best flarking nights of my life.”

            “Well… during my encounter with Thanos on Titan, something strange happened when he used the Soul Stone on me,” Lylla said, her hands going to her stomach.

            Rocket’s eyes went wide in shock. “What- But- huh!?! Are you seriously suggesting that you- that I- that we-?”

            “Yes, Rocket… I’m pregnant,” Lylla nodded, giving a small laugh as Rocket picked her up and twirled her around.

            “Lady that’s- that’s incredible! We’re gonna have a kid- I’m gonna be a dad!” Rocket grinned.

            “You already were a dad, Rocky,” Lylla said.

            The raccoon got somber for a moment. “…I wish Groot was here. He’d be thrilled to know he’s got a little brother or sister on the way.”

            “Floor and Teefs would be excited to be aunts. They all would,” Lylla said sadly. “But even if they’re got now, we have to keep living for their sakes, and for our child’s.”

            “Excuse me, did I just here that the otter and the raccoon are having a kid?” Tony asked, entering the room. “I may be the tech guy, but I’m pretty sure biology doesn’t work like that- unless you two are just weird aliens that look like Build-a-Bears.”

            “It may seem impossible, Tony, but that’s what the medical scans show,” Banner stated.

            “I do have a theory about how this is possible,” Lylla said. “During our first time saving the galaxy, our team combined our efforts to hold the Power Stone and defeat a Kree warlord, Ronan the Accuser. I had decided in preliminary scans that direct exposure to the stone’s power had imprinted some of its energy into all of us Guardians.”

            “So the magic space rocks let you two…” Tony made a “banging” motion with his hands.

            “Yeah, Stark, the magic space rocks let me knock up my lady. Not everything in this galaxy can be explained by science,” Rocket rolled his eyes.

            “I’d argue against that,” Tony shrugged. “Pepper and I are… we’re expecting our own kid too, now. Almost feels like the universe is playing a sick joke in a way.”

            “We just have to keep living, Tony. To guide the next generation so they can rise and be greater than we are,” Lylla said. “We lost the battle today, but we can use this loss to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

            “…So, are you going to call your kid an ottacoon or a rotter?” Tony said.

            “Flark you too, Stark,” Rocket sighed.

Chapter Text

“The creation of life is something that few bear witness to, yet an experience that all are part of. To bring new life into the world is a moment of many emotions: joy, fear, uncertainty of the future. As for Rocket Raccoon and Lylla Otter, their child would be something the universe had never seen before… I know I’ll be watching this moment closely…”

            In the months after finding out Lylla was pregnant, Rocket did everything he could to prepare for the arrival of their child. First, he went back to Nidavellir alongside Nebula to get the Rakk ‘n’ Ruin (he wasn’t about to leave his personal ship behind again), then set about making sure the galaxy was as safe as possible for his future kid. Rocket reconnected with Sale and Kraglin, who had started their own Ravager group and promised to help defend the galaxy in the absence of both the Guardians and the Nova Corps.

            “You can count on us to do our part,” Kraglin promised.

            “I’ll even make sure High Evolutionary doesn’t catch wind of your kid. Last thing we want is “Sire” finding out about ‘em- if he didn’t get snapped away, of course,” Sale added.

            “Thanks, you guys. I’ll make sure to introduce you to the little squirt when they finally get here,” Rocket smiled.

            Next Rocket and Lylla officially inducted Nebula as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, both of them thinking the cyborg woman deserved it after helping them during the fight against Thanos. Nebula promised to help guard the galaxy and take good care of the Benatar, as Rocket and Lylla decided to stay on Earth until their child was born.

            “I’ve heard whisperings in the underworld that not all of the Nova Corps was wiped out when Thanos destroyed Xandar,” Nebula told them. “Perhaps I can get in contact with whatever is left of them.”

            “Do you think they’ll trust you? No offense, but your “dad” did kinda destroy their planet,” Rocket pointed out.

            “With the universe as unstable as it is because of Thanos, I don’t think they have the choice to be picky when it comes to who they can trust,” Nebula replied. “If they trusted you and Quill, they can learn to trust me.”

            Finally, Carol Danvers also promised to keep in touch when it came to galactic activity. While Captain Marvel wasn’t as well-known to the wider galaxy as the Guardians were, Carol was going to make a bigger effort to help anyone she could as the universe tried to adjust to half its population disappearing in an instant.

            The child of Rocket and Lylla soon became one of the most anticipated events at the Avengers compound as the raccoon and otter got to know the Earth-based heroes more. Natasha made sure the two were kept well protected (“If anyone tries to hurt your kid, I’ll make them regret ever trying in the first place,” she said), while Steve and Banner taught the two the basics of Earth culture and cleared up any misconceptions they may have gotten from Quill.

            “You mean the guy with the talking car was just on a TV show? You Terrans are so behind what we got out in the wider galaxy,” Rocket shook his head.

            “It was an entertaining story, at least the way Star-Lord told it,” Lylla shrugged.

            “I can get you two a list of movies and shows you should watch- a friend did that for me before,” Steve offered.

            Rocket and Lylla because especially close with Tony and Pepper as the expecting couples realized they had a lot more in common than you’d think at first glance. Sadly, Thor was still in a depressive funk after losing to Thanos, and he made himself scarce when word of his people, the Asgardians, finally arrived on Earth after half of them escaped being destroyed by Thanos. Everyone was still feeling the effects of that event, but Rocket kept his eyes on the future: he had someone to keep living for, after all, even if he still missed Teefs, Floor, Groot, and the rest of his Guardians of the Galaxy family.

            Eight months after finding out about her pregnancy, it was finally time. Rocket rushed into the medical wing of the Avengers compound, Lylla cradled in his arms as the otter’s face contorted in pain. “I need everyone to flarking move! My wife is about to give birth!” he shouted.

            Bruce quickly moved to help, carefully lifting Lylla up onto the examining table and pulling over a chair for Rocket to stand on. “Just so you know, this really isn’t my doctorate expertise,” he warned.

            “Then get someone that does know what they’re doing!” Rocket said.

            “Rocky! It hurts!” Lylla wailed. “I blame you for putting me through this!”

            “That’s just the hormones talking, Ly. You’re gonna live through this,” Rocket assured her, taking her hand which she squeezed tightly.

            “What’s going on in here?” Natasha said, rushing in.

            “Lylla is having her baby,” Bruce explained.

            “Oh god. I’ll call over a doctor right now,” Natasha said, pulling out her phone.

            “Shouldn’t you call a vet?” Bruce suggested.

            “You are not bringing one of those so-called “animal doctors” to work on my wife,” Rocket hissed. “I tried talking with one of ‘em for a checkup, and let’s just say I ain’t trusting anyone that wants to stick a thermostat where the sun don’t shine.”

            “…Real doctor it is,” Natasha nodded.

            Rocket and Bruce continued to try and keep Lylla calm, making sure her vitals were stable as contractions continued to happen. Natasha soon returned to the room alongside a newcomer, an Asian man wearing monk robes.

            “Wong? What are you doing here?” Bruce asked.

            “I was coming by to give a report to Natasha when she informed me that someone was giving birth on the premises,” Wong answered. He looked at Rocket and Lylla with surprise. “…Are those two demons, Dr. Banner?”

            “This is Rocket and Lylla. They’re illegal experiments from space and Guardians of the Galaxy,” Natasha explained. “Rocket, Lylla, this is Wong, current Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, former assistant of Stephen Strange, whom you met on Titan.”

            “Hear that, Lylla? It’s the assistant to that wizard guy you and Tony met,” Rocket said. “But how’s a wizard gonna help us out?”

            “I may be Sorcerer Supreme, but I am also trained in what to do when someone is giving birth,” Wong said, entering the room and immediately moving to assist in the process. “It was necessary when people came to Kamar-Taj to ask for magical assistance in conceiving a child.”

            “Then do your thing, magic man,” Rocket said, continuing to hold Lylla’s hand.

            The otter groaned as squirmed as the contractions got stronger, Rocket whispering into her ear as Wong used magic to help stabilize her condition, glowing yellow rings hovering over her stomach as he whispered spells. After what felt like hours, Lylla gave one last scream as she pushed as hard as she could, her breathing labored as a new, small voice cried out.

            “Congratulations, Lylla. It’s a girl,” Wong said, gently holding out his cupped hands as he placed a swath of bundled purple cloth in Lylla’s arms.

            “Rocky…” Lylla whispered, tears coming to her eyes as she unbundled the cloth to look at her daughter. “She’s beautiful.”

            She looked mostly like a raccoon, complete with a “mask” of fur around her eyes and a ringed tail. But looking closer revealed her hybrid nature: ears that were slightly more rounded, a stiffer tail built for swimming, hands and feet with webbing between the fingers and toes, yet dexterous enough to handle tools like her father. Even her raccoon pelt was a softer color like her mother’s, with a slickness that would no doubt be waterproof as it grew in.

            Lylla held out the baby to Rocket, the raccoon hesitant to hold her at first. Bringing his daughter to his chest, Rocket gasped as she instinctively pressed herself against his heart, beating fast yet proud as he gently rubbed her back. “Lady… this is our kid… We made this…”

            “We did, Rocket. Together,” Lylla smiled.

            “What will you name her?” Bruce asked.

            “When we were created, we gave ourselves names. I want our daughter to pick her own name as well,” Lylla answered.

            “Are you sure she’ll be able to speak?” Natasha questioned. “The Infinity Stones may have let her be created, but it was science that let you two speak and walk like us.”

            “That’s true. Our kid might just be a normal, non-sentient raccoon-otter,” Rocket hummed. “But that’s not gonna change how we feel about her.”

            “We just have to believe the universe will give her what she needs,” Lylla nodded. “Thank you, Wong, for helping.”

            “It was nothing,” Wong shook his head. “We’ll leave you two alone for a moment. Just call if you need help.”

            As the humans stepped out of the room, Rocket and Lylla could only focus on the child held between them. Their little miracle baby. The proof that their love was strong.

            Unlike humans, raccoon-otters grow fast. Rocket and Lylla weren’t even ten years old in human years but had both reached full maturity in only three, close to their Earth counterparts. Their daughter as much the same, going from a small, blind baby into a babbling toddler in only a year’s time. Luckily for the two parents, their daughter was showing signs of being an uplift like they were, waddling around on two legs and being attentive to learning things just like a sentient being could. Lylla could only say that it was because of the Power Stone’s energy that their daughter came out so similar to her parents.

            “So she still doesn’t have a name yet?” Tony asked. Rocket and Lylla were visiting the Starks at their house in upstate New York.

            “She’ll get there when she gets there. At least she can say some words; your kid is still being spoon-fed,” Rocket said.

            “Sorry that humans take longer to grow than ottacoons,” Tony shot back, the two men giving playful smiles as they bantered.

            “Boys, be nice,” Pepper said as she came into the living room alongside Lylla, holding her own daughter in her hands.

            “So this is the little stinker, huh?” Rocket said, standing up to take a closer look at the human child. “At least this humie is cute. Cuter than most I’ve seen at least.”

            “Her name is Morgan, after my uncle,” Pepper replied, giving Rocket a pinch on the ear for his comment.

            “She’s beautiful, Pepper,” Lylla said, pulling her daughter up onto the couch to see as well. The raccoon-otter looked at Morgan with wonder, here bright purple eyes (no doubt a remnant of the Power Stone’s energy) wide as she reached out to touch the baby, only for the human child to grab onto her little finger. “Aw, they’re becoming friends already.”

            “My daughter’s going to be best friends with an alien raccoon/otter hybrid. Guess we don’t need to get that dog after all,” Tony chuckled.

            “Ba-ba?” Rocket’s daughter babbled, pointing at Morgan.

            “Yes, little one, that’s a baby. Her name is Morgan,” Lylla nodded.

            The raccoon-otter pointed at her. “Also Ba-ba?”

            “No, my name is Lylla. I’m your mother,” Lylla giggled, rubbing her daughter on the head. She pointed her finger at Rocket. “And that’s Rocket, your father. Lylla, mother. Rocket, father.”

            Rocket’s daughter pointed at Morgan again. “Ba-ba, Mor-gan.”

            “Yes, that’s it!” Lylla clapped.

            “This is really cute,” Pepper whispered to Tony.

            “We’ll be seeing this in a year or two with Morgan,” Tony whispered back.

            The raccoon-otter started pointing around the room, her mind abuzz as she recalled words that Rocket and Lylla had been teaching her. “Cha-air. Ma-ma. Da-da. Tee-Vee. Lie-lah, Rock-et.”

            “She’s getting good at this,” Rocket said.

            “Ba-ba is Morgan,” his daughter repeated. “Ma-ma is Lylla. Da-da is Rocket.”

            “You’re doing great, sweetie!” Lylla laughed, hugging her daughter close and touching their noses together.

            She pointed at herself next. “What me? Me name?”

            “You don’t have name yet, kiddo. You gotta pick one for yourself,” Rocket said.

            The one-year-old raccoon-otter looked puzzled, then pointed at her father again. “Rocket! Me Rocket!”

            “Looks like you got yourself a junior, furball,” Tony laughed.

            “As much as Rocket Jr. sounds nice, it really doesn’t fit the little rug rat,” Rocket chuckled.

            “You can’t be Rocket! Rocket is Rocket, silly,” Lylla giggled, blowing a raspberry on her daughter’s head.

            The otter-raccoon squirmed out of her mother’s grip, giggling all the same. “Rocket! Me is Rocket!”

            “Look, kid, you have to pick your own name. I mean, we can’t be having folks confusing my handsome mug with you when you’re all grown up and guarding the galaxy,” Rocket said.

            “You’re seriously going to let your kid go on space missions with you?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

            “When she’s ready, yeah,” Rocket shrugged.

            “As if you aren’t going to make an Iron Man Jr. armor for Morgan when she’s of age,” Lylla smirked.

            Pepper gave Tony a stern look, the billionaire coughing into his hand. “That’s, uh, not going to happen if Mrs. Stark has anything to say about it.”

            “Besides, it’d be a shock to me if she doesn’t want to be a hero just like her father,” Lylla said, holding her daughter up as the otter-raccoon reached out and bopped her nose.

            That made the her daughter’s brow furrow as a thought came to mind. “Rocket… Shock… Rock… Shock… Shocket!” the otter-raccoon suddenly exclaimed with a giggle.

            “Shocket? That’s two different words put together, you silly goose,” Rocket smirked, rolling his eyes and ruffling her head fur.

            “Shocket! Me is Shocket!” his daughter repeated.

            “Shocket? Do you want to be called Shocket, little one?” Lylla asked.

            Her daughter clapped her hands together. “Shocket! I am Shocket!”

            “A real original name, huh?” Tony snarked.

            “Be nice. It’s wonderful that they let her choose a name. It’s part of their culture, I’d guess,” Pepper said.

            The otter-raccoon, now named Shocket, continued repeating her name, jumping on the couch while Rocket and Lylla tried to settle her down. “Okay, okay! It’s great you have a name now, Shocket, but you have to settle down if you want to get ice cream for dessert later,” Rocket said.

            “Ice cream!” Shocket gasped, immediately sitting herself down in her mother’s lap as Lylla wrapped her arms around the otter-raccoon protectively.

            “There we go. All settled down… for now, at least,” Rocket sighed. “They never tell ya how hard it is to be a parent.”

            “But it’s worth it, yes?” Pepper asked.

            “Always,” Rocket and Lylla agreed, looking at each other and sharing a kiss. Shocket stuck out her tongue at the romantic gesture.

            “So, now that we’re all settled down, how about we start movie night?” Tony said, grabbing the TV remote. “What are we watching tonight?”

            “How about the movie about the little human girl and her blue alien friend. Shocket really likes that one,” Rocket suggested.

            “Rocket loves that movie too, though he always cries at the end,” Lylla whispered to Pepper, the two wives sharing a small laugh as Tony put on the movie. The world may have changed forever, but for some, new life was starting to grow in places where it was once lost.