Here it is the stand alone story of guardians of the galaxy i promised forever ago! I redid and corrected the first chapter so here you go. enjoy!
Two stern looking men in jet black, crisp uniforms stared carefully through the two way mirror to the room's sole occupant. The 25 year old had brown hair with light brown eyes, wearing a now worn and fairly dirty gray undershirt, ripped up black slacks and some kind of green colored shoes. His red jacket was the only thing that looked decent though to the officers it still reeked of cheap, off brand clothing. He looked bored, eyes lazily glancing around the room as he played with his hands that were cuffed directly onto the interrogation table.
They openly glared the largest sharp object the pair could think of at him. They knew he couldn't see them but the sheer magnitude of trouble he and the other one caused meant there was a large amount of paperwork waiting for the dozen or peacekeepers on duty made him very unpopular at the moment.
Damage reports, citizen complaints and injuries, who was arrested and if they had managed to capture any major players in the Black Flare/Red Dust gang turf war.
They were going to be here all night and it was the young's man fault. Of course the real question was who he actually was...
"His I.D. Says his name is Julio Ramirez" one officer snickered as he held up the clear, translucent credit card sized I.D to the light, the man's facing staring back at him with a pencil thin mustache that was not physically found on the actual man's upper lip.
"Well" His partner cut in, twisting the thin computer screen to the other "According to the file and his blood work his name is Pascal Rodrigo" the man in the picture was now wearing a ridiculous curled goatee.
"He is also Marcus Reed" rather large thick beard covered and a captain's hat was on the man's picture this time
"Antonio Du Boise" the man was now dressed in rather fancy suit wearing a monocle.
"And an alias, one Marco Ubaldo Diaz" photo matched the person locked in the room perfectly.
One of the officers shook his head disappointingly "In this day and age, did this guy really think he could just use a bunch of fake names and just get away with this? I mean PerpBook already tagged and recognized his face from all the names case files. Look all together he's committed 56 counts of burglary"
"67 counts of breaking and entering"
"4 counts of illegal sales of contraband goods"
"27 counts of public property damage"
"3 counts of being intoxicated in public"
"34 counts of assault against known criminals"
"17 counts of assault against suspected criminals"
"75 counts of resisting arrest"
a small ping rang from the computer
"76 counts of resisting of arrest. Last one just came in"
"Does that say threatening an officer with a fish?"
"This one says he did it with a chicken too"
The two officers shook their head "Criminals never learn. Probably wishing he hadn't chose this life of crime now. He's going away for a looooong time"
Marco Ubaldo Diaz took a deep breath before releasing it in a dull and bored fashion. He closely examined the handcuffs now locked onto his wrists and attaching him to the table bolted down in the middle of the room. Easy enough to break but that always hurt his wrist. Best to pick it when the peacekeepers were properly distracted instead of glaring at him and checking out his obvious fake cover names. This should be the point where they were mocking how stupid he was and how he must be regretting his life choices.
"Everything according to script" He muttered as his eyes wandered around the bland and bleak room. Every peacekeeper station was the same from the Crystal way quadrant to Outrims, bright white walls outside, dull, faded gray inside.
Space travel? No problem. Living among the stars? Already done. Better paint jobs and colors? Impossible.
Marco was about to lay his head against the cold, unfeeling metal of the table when the station shook violently, a small trail of dust raining from the ceiling above.
Marco glanced around, the room shaking angrily a second time raining more dust onto of his head.
Marco let out a small cough before shaking the dust off "Well...this is new"
The peacekeepers looked at each other, drawing their blaster pistols and taking cover when the far away wall across from them began to sizzle, the orangish red light starting to cut through the wall creating a doorway for whatever was on the other side.
Marco reached over to his forearm, trying to ignore the pain of twisting his wrist in an awkward angle as he gently pulled back a skin colored piece of tape, a small lockpick stuck under it.
As no one had raced into the room in an attempt to stop him, he knew the guards were busy with whatever the hell was attacking the floating station in space. Though, he thought to himself as he began to quickly pick the handcuffs, anything that has the guts to attack a federation peacekeeper station was never a good thing to run into.
Best to get on out of here.
The cuffs eased their grip on his wrists with a satisfied pop and Marco took a moment gently rub blood back into his aching wrists.
Marco casually made his way to the door, his relaxed posture really an illusion to fool any guard who decided to rush at him from nowhere. His muscles with tense with anticipation.
Marco couldn't tell if getting to the door unimpeded was a good or bad thing so for the moment he would label it as a thing.
"It's okay" he told himself, nodded confidently as a way to psych himself up "You got this. You got this. Whatever is outside this door you can handle it. You are the Red Hood, legendary thief and outlaw. Yougot this!"
And the moment he quietly opened the door forward, a dead peacekeeper landed just out of the reach, dead eyes widen like they were seeing into his soul without actually seeing anything while the burnt body smell wafted through the air, the angry red blaster burn on the guards neck telling Marco everything he needed to know.
Marco let out a miffed sigh as he opened the door completely, hiding behind it as the whine of blaster fire echoed loudly through out the halls.
Marco was about to peer his head out to see what was going on but stopped when a flash of red and the soft sizzling of some small part of his hair told him live ammo was being used.
Marco let out an annoyed grunt, gently racking his fingers over his face.
Marco took a deep breath and quickly popped his head out of cover.
There were six or so peacekeepers blasting their blue stun bolts towards a small opening across the hall. That was expected.
What was not expected was the shiny white and black armor of the Black Flare criminal organization standing in the doorway, nasty and clearly illegally modded weapons mowing down all who opposed them
Marco ran his hand through his hair. The Black Flare was one of the most powerful criminal empires out there with enough force to rival the Federation.
And Marco had just lost them both a lot of money and an artifact he wasn't suppose to know about.
Forget the fact it was his stupid dealer's fault for giving him the wrong package and subsequently messing up the following deal, Black Flare tend to kill all parties involved
and they were here for Marco.
Marco let out a curse word that his mother would not approve over as he crouched, ready to run behind the police counter just across from the room.
Marco kept procrastinating as the red bolts began to fill the hallway. Self preservation instincts were a little fickle about what counted as an acceptable risk.
It wasn't until a bolt had cut a nice sized hole just an inch away from his head that Marco raced forward, keeping low to minimize his chances of being hit as he leapt over the counter, the warm energy of a bolt passing close enough to his outstretched hand to cause it to heat up for a second.
Marco landed roughly, his legs giving way before he tucked into a roll and sprung back into a standing position
and straight into a peacekeeper armed with a stun baton.
"Hey!" he roughly called from behind his helmet, the baton not activated yet "What are you doing out here?"
Marco chuckled nervously "Didn't you hear? Early parole"
Marco couldn't see the face of the guard but he knew he wasn't buying it "No, not buying it?" Marco clicked his tongue in disappointment "Damn, well it can't be helped"
Marco reached for a heavy book on a nearby desk as the baton sparked to life, pulling his body to the side when the guard thrust forward, narrowly dodging the attack while preparing his own.
Marco felt a little guilty when he could hear the helmet crack under the weight of the book, the guard slumping to the floor and drifting off to sleep.
"Geesh, what did I hit you with?" Marco muttered as he turned to see the book's title, his eyes widening at the sheer irony.
"Federation justice guidelines to Law. That is all kinds of ironic" Marco shook his head, nonchalantly tossing the book away as he picked up the stun baton "Since you won't be needing it."
Marco carefully opened the door just beyond the fallen body, grinning happily as he found himself staring into a stairwell.
"This is the best luck ever"
There was a loud click of fresh ammo being loaded behind him and Marco said that swear again.
Carefully and slowly, Marco turned his head to see 3 Black Flare soldiers pointing their nasty looking guns straight at his head while another group began searching the hallway out of sight.
"Heeeey guys" Marco said as calmly as he could "W-what brings you to this neck of the woods? Not little old me right?"
"Marco Diaz" a robotic, inhuman voice called from behind one of the masks. Even if he knew it was just a voice disguise, he always hated how those sounded when directed at him.
"Me? No no no! I'm Julio Ramirez!"
Silence
"Would you believe my name is Pascal Rodrigo?"
No response
"Paul Blofis? Marcus Reed? Antonio Reed?"
The trio gripped their guns a little tighter
"How boooooout Maaaaarco Diiiiiiiaz?" he said with an extended whine.
The trio clutched their fists in victory, taking a hand off their blasters "YES! Knew it!"
Marco bolted through the door, slamming it shut as the soldiers realized their mistake
"HEY! Blast him!"
Marco's blood was rushing through his ears as he glanced up and down.
"up or down, up or down, up or..."
A flurry of bolts crashed through the door way, nearly burning Marco in three different limbs
"Right, down!" Marco shouted, quickly running down the stairs, the soldiers footsteps began to sound closer with each passing second.
Marco quickly hopped onto the railing, jumping down to the next flight of stairs below him while the door was kicked open, bolts being shot down and up the staircase.
Marco hit the side railing harder than he expected and in the moment he was stunned, e missed the railing completely and began to fall, his hands wildly attempted to grasp anything he could before gravity increased his speed too much.
His hands caught the railing a whole floor down, Marco groaning in pain as it felt like his arms were pulled out of their sockets for a moment from his free fall.
Marco began to pull himself over the railing when a blast bolt melted a nearby piece of it
Marco said the curse word once more. He swung his body back onto solid ground and
raced down the stairs as fast as he could, the footsteps echoing high above him but inching closer and closer while the occasional bolt forced him to dodge out of nowhere and made his step unsteady for a brief moment.
But those moments were adding up.
Marco spotted a door just in front of him. He had no way of knowing where it was going to lead him but at this point anything was better than in a stairway, holding a baton in a blaster fight.
Marco charged the door with as much strength as he could, his face slipping into surprise as the door easily opened under his unnecessary show force, sending him sprawling forward into an open chute, his screams fading as the door swung closed, preventing the soldiers from noticing where he had escaped to.
Marco picked up speed, most of the time freefalling before randomly slamming against the chute as it shifted into a different direction. Marco lost all sense of time as the tunnel became longer and longer and...
Plop.
Marco's body shook as all the force of his trip was absorbed by a massive pile of dirty clothes. Marco took a sigh of relief before turning to notice a shirt that was caked with dry blood.
"Eww, eww, eww!" Marco muttered in revolt, struggling to find footing on the unsteady and loose clothing, each time his hands finding something that felt gross under his touch.
After many minutes of trying, Marco finally untangled himself from his loathsome foe and opened the nearest door he could.
He knew he was in a cell block but the lights had been set to dim and unlike the other cell blocks which were small, cramped and designed to hold at least 200 prisoners in a room, this one only had a dozen or so cells, so wide that they appeared to be a mansion to the others.
Add the fact that every cell he walked by was so far was empty and he was officially freaked out.
"I've seen horror movies that start this way" He muttered, eyes focused in fear "and we all know what happens to the handsome guy"
"He dies" a voice teased from the darkness.
Marco screamed at the top of his lungs, switching on the stun baton, waving it in a frantic panic while he tried to spot the location of the voice.
"Seriously? How did you ever get the best of me?"
Marco's eyes narrowed when he realized the voice came from behind him. His narrow eyes became a straight on glare when he saw who trapped in the cell.
It was a girl his age, a gorgeous girl if he was going to tell the truth but she didn't need to know that. She had long, flowing blonde hair, her icy blue eyes twinkling gleefully back at him as her lips were upturned by a smirk on her face, her pink hearts plastered on those cheeks looking just as cute as he remembered them. She wore a sea green dress and pink, orange stockings tucked into some strange looking boots. A real beauty indeed.
"Yoooou" Marco muttered angrily as he inched closer to her, his face only separated from hers by a thin but sturdy piece of Fibsteel.
"Me" she teased, her eyes batting at him seductively.
"Yeeeeah not going to work princess" he taunted despite the fact his heart felt like he just ran a marathon
She pouted in a way that was too cute and Marco could feel his heart skip a beat.
"Well can't blame me for trying" she answered truthfully "Even if it is your fault I'm in here"
Star admitted with those light brown eyes and that chocolate brown hair, he looked extremely adorable when his face melted into sheer disbelief.
"My fault? My fault!?" Marco pointed at her accusingly "You are the one got me thrown in here!"
Star shrugged "If you just walked away when I told you..."
Marco scoffed, unable to believe what he was hearing "Was that before you jammed your knee into my stomach or after you attempted to crush me with an aquatic whale!"
Star peered at him thoughtfully "In between I believe and aren't all whales aquatic?"
Marco rolled his eyes "I must've not heard because I was busy trying not to be this little something called dead!"
Star giggled "It isn't my fault that you took the wrong package."
Marco flushed, her laugh pure music to his ears "You tried to kill me for someone else's mistake..."
"Keyword is tried"
"Trying to kill me is not much better than actually killing me."
"It is a little better you have to admit"
Marco let out a groan of displeasure, cutely stamping his foot "Because of you I now owe a lot of money to mobsters who want me d-e-a-d"
Star pursed her lips. As much as she hated working with crook, lowly thieves, she wasn't getting out of this cell without him.
"Let me out..." Star started but Marco cut her off at once.
"Let you out? Because our first outing together went so well!"
"If that's your idea of a first date, we have to work on your standards"
"If I took you out on a date, I might've brought you roses if you hadn't attacked me!"
Star was admittedly surprised when she felt her hearts turning a slightly brighter pink against her will. The idea of this man bringing her roses was...nice.
"Look" she decided to aim for the truth "I am sorry for attacking you. I didn't know if you knew what you had and what your plans for it were but I..."
"Should've made sure. I am not even sure I want to know what a Starco is."
Star felt guilty when he stared into her eyes. He really didn't know anything about the Starco.
"I need the Starco okay" she murmured softly "If you get me out and help me take it to my buyer...then I'll split the money with you."
Marco stroked his nonexistent beard. She had attacked him but she was really gorgeous...
Marco shook his head "Look as pretty as you are" Star's hearts turned even pinker upon hearing that "I don't trust you. Last time we saw each other, we had turned the criminal sector into a warzone."
Star let out a deep sigh, willing her hearts to turn back to their normal color.
"Please...I...I just wanted a new life..."
Marco could see the desperation in her eyes as if this was her last chance. And despite the reservations he had about her, he decided it wasn't the worst thing to be in the presence of a beautiful girl who could possible get him enough money to pay off his debt.
Star could hear Marco's footsteps echo away from her and she felt sadden at his decision but she understood. She wouldn't have forgiven her either if she was in his...
The cell door slid up silently and Star cautiously made her way to the outside world, certain Marco was going to shut the door on her, crushing her hopes once and for all.
But there was no closed door, sudden betrayal. Nothing.
"You better hurry up!" Marco called from another room "There are a lot of Black Flare soldiers here and they are willing to rip anyone up"
Star's wonder turned into a deep fear when the words Black Flare passed through her ears.
She quickly made her way into the other room to see Marco lifting two rather unique looking pistols, carefully putting them into holsters hidden underneath his jacket
"Black Flare? Here?"
Marco nodded "Here for my head no doubt."
Star bit her lip nervously. No matter how bad someone messed up a deal, the Black Flare wouldn't attack a federation peacekeeper station just for one man. They were here for Star; this guy was just an added bonus.
Star's eyes narrowed when Marco lifted a baseball sized red and blue orb out of a box with his name on it, the letters S and M engraved in a beautiful style.
"If you don't mind" his words knocked her out of her trance "I'll be holding on to it" Marco slipped the orb into his pocket inside his jacket "For...insurance reasons."
Star felt the momentary urge to attack Marco and just take the Starco from him. That was her whole future after all. But he let her out when he had no reason to. She couldn't break whatever little amount of trust she managed to gain with this thief.
"Of course."
Star began searching for her box, letting out a sigh of relief when she spotted her devil horns headband and magic wand.
Marco eyed the wand wearily but made no motion to disarm her when she slipped the headband on her head and checked the wand for any damages.
"So" Marco started "Since we'll be escaping together, I suppose we should introduce ourselves."
Star nodded hesitatingly, there was no way this thief was going to tell her his real name but she would play along anyway.
"Star Butterfly" She motioned her head towards him "you?"
"Jul..." Marco started but stopped when he saw a sudden glint of expectation in Star's eyes. She knew he was going to lie about his name and as much as Marco wanted to, he couldn't. Not to Star for whatever reason.
"Marco Diaz" Marco felt exposed, like he just showed her an embarrassing birthmark or something. It didn't help that the Starco felt warm against his chest for a moment, sending a syrupy feeling of joy through his body in that split second.
"Marco Diaz" Star nodded, surprised how truthful he looked when saying it.
"Yeah" he nodded back before clearing his throat, trying to ignore how bright and mesmerizing her eyes were. "We should get going"
Marco moved pass her. Star took a deep whiff of Marco's scent as he went by and turned crimson when she realized despite how he looked and how much he must've been running, he smelled very enjoyable though she couldn't place the smell.
Marco forced the jammed door open, holding it for Star go through when it was clear it was going to force itself shut no matter what.
"Such a gentleman" Star teased, a playful smile sending chills down Marco's spine.
"Well" he replied "If you can act like a lady, I can easily be a gentleman for you"
Star's heart skipped for a moment as that comment filled her with warmth.
Marco glanced around the clear tube that connected the isolated cell block to the rest of the station.
"How exactly are we getting out of here?" Star asked as the two made their way down the tube, their footsteps echoing loudly but naturally in step.
"There!" Marco shouted, pointing to a dark blue ship "That's the JLT! My ship. They must've impounded it after they arrested me."
"JLT?" Star rose an eyebrow.
Marco shifted uncomfortably "It...it's the...initials of my ex"
"Oh." Star wasn't sure what to say "D-did she die?"
Marco shook his head as they stood in front of the elevator, his finger pressing the call button rapidly as if the act could summon their ride faster
"No. Faked being in love with me then tried to kill me."
There was an awkward silence while the two rode up to the ship's hanger.
Star wanted to comfort Marco but hadn't the slightest idea how.
"Why did you name the ship after her?"
Marco sighed "A reminder"
"Of?"
"That guys like me don't get happy endings."
Star opened her mouth but the elevator's doors slid open revealing a group of Black Flare Soldiers.
Marco reached for his guns but Star already beat him to it.
"Tsunami Jellybean storm!"
Marco couldn't believe his eyes as a rush of jellybeans burst forth from Star's wand, knocking the soldiers off their feet and over the railing.
"SORRY!" Star called after them
"Hey!" Marco shouted, annoyed "You did not apologize to me, you do not apologize to them!"
Star rolled her eyes as the pair made way to the ship.
"This ship cannot fly" Star muttered, eying the worn and faded ship carefully, Marco and Star's distorted images reflected back at them.
"Hey this ship can totally fly! This ship can withstand anything."
"It's unlikely to do anything but crash and disappoint. Your ship..." Star began but Marco quickly cut her off.
"Hey! this is our ship! And our ship practically flies itself!"
Star sighed as the pair made their way onto the deck of the ship, lifting up and disappearing into the night sky, leaving no trace they had ever been there.
Star paced nervously back and forth, the ship silently hung over some far off planet, far away from the peacekeeper station they escaped from.
She knew she had to tell Marco the real reason she needed the Starco, the reason behind the Black Flare's attack on the station but how does one say "Hey I'm the daughter of the leader of the Black Flare! I ran away from home and trying to start a new life away from my evil father"
Star let out a groan of frustration
This was easier when the two had battle under the cloak of seedy criminal darkness, when she hadn't seen Marco in the chaos that had been their fight, when she hadn't known she was attacking a decent human being with some surprising deep emotions, when she hadn't known how good looking he was.
Star let out another frustrated growl.
"Screaming like that is going to make you a brunette"
Star spun around to see Marco leaning against the doorway, smirking in a way that was all too enticing to Star.
He had changed into a pair of clean clothes though they virtually the same as he had been wearing before. Star bit her lip when she noticed his crossed arms inadvertently flexed his well developed muscles.
"What, got a thing for brunettes?" Star shot back, pouting in a way that made Marco just want to lift her off her feet and kiss her with enough passion that was probably totally inappropriate on a number of levels.
"Nah."
"What are you doing here Marco?"
Marco shrugged "Other than being on my ship, I figured since we have to lay low, this would be the best time to talk"
Star was suspiciously "About what?"
"Whatever we need to and I figured the best way was over these!"
Marco had revealed a large bowl of triangle chips drowning in a thick layer of cheese.
Star giggled "Seriously?"
Marco smiled endearingly "Seriously"
Star rolled her eyes as she took a seat on the guest bed, patting it warmly.
Marco took a step, placing the bowl in between them before the very first question rolled off his tongue
"What is the Starco?"