Then, there was the time he was allowed to stay home from school he and his mother watched movies, ate pizza, and even baked some cookies. She even let him lick the spoon. Those were the days and he missed them a lot. "Why? Why did she have to die?" He said to himself, groaning. He missed his mother. He always would, and always will, and these photos were the only thing he had left of her. He made a promise to himself that he would never let anything happen to these pictures. Like his friends and his ship, he would protect the last thing he had to remember his old life by with his life.
The door suddenly slid open, and Gamora walked inside with a bowl of Xandarian noodles, one of Peter's favorite foods. "Hey, Peter. You've been cooped up in here all day, and I thought you'd be hungry, so I brought you some Xandarian noodles with extra relish, your favorite," the green-skinned alien woman said.
"Thanks, Gamora. I really appreciate it," Peter replied. He tucked the old photos from his childhood under his pillow. Gamora handed him the bowl of noodles, and eyed his hand curiously. He was hoping she didn't notice, but when Gamora was around, she noticed everything. He swore his girlfriend had the eyes of an eagle or something.
"Hey, Peter. What's that?" Gamora asked curiously.
Peter knew lying to Gamora would get him nowhere, so he decided to tell her the truth. "Just pictures of my mom, that's all. Nothing much," He replied back.
"May I see them?" Gamora asked. Peter bit his lip. He knew Gamora wouldn't rip them up or destroy them in any way. It's just the fact that he wasn't used to letting anyone hold them, not even his own girlfriend. Still, he knew he could trust her enough to let her hold something dear to him, so he slowly took the photos out. Gamora had never seen pictures taken from a Terran planet before, so this excited and intrigued her. The things Peter told her about Earth, she hoped to see it for herself one day. Gazing at the photo, Gamora traced her finger against it. "It's beautiful, Peter," she said. Peter smiled and slurped some noodles up before they got cold. He at least wanted to savor the flavor before that happened. Cold food sucks. It's like drinking lukewarm Coca Cola, and that's not refreshing at all. "Peter? What was she like, your mother?" Gamora asked.
"Wow … ugh … Where do I even start? Well, she was kind, smart, beautiful, loving. … and I … I miss her. I really do," Peter said he looked down at the bowl of noodles, feeling less hungry by the minute.
Gamora felt bad. She probably shouldn't have asked, especially about his mother. She missed her parents too and after what Ronan did to her parents, she would never forgive him. She had heard he left behind am illegitimate son who he tried to hide from the public. That bastard thought he was slick. He swore up and down he hated the Xandarian species, but the news came out that Ronan was secretly seeing a Xandarian woman named Cynthia a few years back. After he found out the woman was pregnant with his child, he got up and ditched her. That poor woman had to raise a baby boy all by herself. Her family ignored her, her people banned her from the planet, and she had nowhere left to go.
The Kree were devastated after the death of their leader, and made Cynthia and her son, Nathaniel, leaders. The boy and his mother were placed as Prince and Queen due to the desperation of the Kree. Even though they had done nothing bad to Gamora, she hated them. She didn't know why, but she hated them.
"I'm sorry, Pete. I miss my parents, too. I apologize for asking," Gamora said as she placed an assuring hand on his hand.
Peter felt a bit better. "No, it's fine. I shouldn't be so sensitive. It isn't manly at all," Peter replied.
Gamora begged to differ. "Peter, having feelings doesn't make you weak. It makes you human," she said.
"Human, huh? I guess you're right." Peter said, chuckling. Growing up amongst the Ravagers, he was treated far from human. Well, half-human, that is.
Suddenly, the alarm system went off. "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" It signaled. It was probably another Kree terrorist attacking the Milanoo. There were reports of crazed Kree attacking ships, planets, anywhere or anything they could get their grubby little Smurf-wannabe hands on. They'd go after anything and anyone.
The Kree had declared death on Peter and the gang ever since Ronan was killed. Truthfully, Peter didn't care. He could take those guys on, even without their leader. The Kree were still a petty and vicious alien race, but at least they didn't smell like the Skrull.
However, this time, it wasn't a Kree terrorist, or robbers, but someone Peter thought was long gone 12 years ago.
Meanwhile
The cloaked woman knew she had been spotted, but it was of no concern right now. Her left arm was badly injured. A couple of Chitauri soldiers had ambushed her after she failed to assassinate their boss, Thanos. The titan deserved to die, and the woman wanted nothing more than to see the blood of Thanos stain the floor like some strange wine on a white carpet.
The floor of Peter's ship was stained a dark crimson red, and her vision was starting to blur badly. Before everything went dark, she saw a huge tree-like figure accompanied by a rodent of some sort before the whole world went black.
*30 minutes later*
*Rocket's p.o.v*
Groot carried the injured woman to the medbay. She obviously broke in on our turf, but seeing the condition she was in, me and ol' Groot took pity on her. Drax was out in the hallway cleaning up the blood spill she trailed behind. I'm surprised the dame didn't die from blood loss. She's a real trooper. We don't know her identity yet, but who cares! This broad has a nice body. The cloak ain't revealing nothin', but the woman has a nice pair of breasts.
Peter and Gamora came in. Peter casually waltzed over to the sleeping woman laid out on the medbay and carefully pulled down her hood. Suddenly, Peter froze. "No … I can't … but … she … I thought she was dead…"
"Peter, what's the matter?" Gamora asked.
Suddenly, the woman sprang up and grabbed Peter tightly by the collar. "WHO ARE YOU? WHERE AM I?!" the woman yelled.
Peter, somehow, was unfazed. "Jacqueline, is that you? You always hated being touched. Long time no see, eh?" Peter replied smirking.
'Jacqueline', as she was called, released her grip from his collar. She removed her hood from her face, revealing her smooth dark skin and silver hair cut into a bob, with fierce brown eyes. She wore a dark black cloak to hide the rest of her features. She winced in pain, clutching her bandaged arm. "Peter… So, you're alive! I thought you were dead," Jacqueline replied, wincing in pain.
"I am Groot!" Groot warned.
"You're right. She's gonna open up her stitches. Lady, sit down, for crying out loud!" I said.
*Third person p.o.v*
Jacqueline rolled her eyes. Gamora raised an eyebrow at the four of them. "Thought I was dead? My grandfather said you died in a car accident, along with your brother Chris. Cliff told me," Peter said, but before he could finish, Jacqueline cut him off.
"We don't dare speak about that man. Cliff is not my father, and never will be. I didn't die. I was put in a coma, but I didn't die… He just said those things so he could collect the money mom left behind ever since she ran off. Well, that made him the spawn of Satan. What he's done to me, I'll never forgive him." Jacqueline looked down at her feet and said nothing else.
There was an awkward silence in the room before Gamora cleared her throat. "Peter, can I talk to you for a minute?" Gamora asked. Who was this female and why was peter so happy to see her?
She hoped Peter wasn't seeing other women secretly. He was known to be a player, but here he was, being so kind to a stranger who obviously is trespassing on their ship, their home away from home. She didn't know what was going on, but she had to get some answers!
Peter knew Gamora was jealous, but what did he do wrong? Jacqueline was just an old childhood friend. that's all. "Yeah. Be right back, guys. Stepping out for a bit," Peter said before Gamora dragged him out the room.
The room was once again silent. Jacqueline refused to give Rocket and Groot eye contact. "GET OUT!" She ordered rudely.
Groot was appalled. "Sheesh! Fine with us! Come on, Groot, let's leave Little Miss Intruder to herself," Rocket replied. Groot nodded before getting up and heading out with Rocket.
Now, that was a bit mean, but she just wanted to be alone right now. Pretty soon, there would be a warrant for her arrest everywhere, and Jacqueline couldn't handle Peter knowing that she was a murderer. She looked up to him, and he'd surely stopped talking to her if he found out she was an assassin. By the end of tonight, she had to get off his ship somehow without him noticing. Until then, though, her head hurt a lot. She rested her head on the pillow on the med bed, and she slowly fell asleep.
To be continued…