Low Fuel Stop

The stars streak past like burning fireflies, the ship's speed dropping by a few notches. We're running low on fuel, we'll need to stop somewhere.

"You're doing really well, Peter," Aunt May says. "It's like you've been flying spaceships your whole life."

"Hm," I say lightly.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry, Aunt May. I was thinking."

"About Starlord's offer to sell you that smaller one too? With the pink flame designs graffiti'd all over it? I was thinking about that too. I can't believe I'm saying this in my lifetime - but one spaceship is enough. We're a single family garage for now. Er… single family… launch pad? And we just can't afford it. Even if the exchange rate is higher… in space."

I was thinking about Michelle Jones again. I have a small keychain she had given me in high school - a token that you'd use at an old arcade, the kinds that made their own coins. It was sealed in a transparent resin for safety, and hung on small, three link chain and key ring. She had written PETER PARKER with sharpie on the back of the covering.

Now it hangs on the upper consoles above the windshield. It's not quite like fuzzy dice on a rear-view mirror, but it's as close as I can get. I take it with me every time we fly. This time I'm the pilot, so I get to hang it up.

The key chain stayed with me during high school.

I had it in my pocket when Earth was attacked.

It stays with me here now, in space, with Aunt May and I trying to make a new life here - thanks only in part to the efforts of Avengers and Guardians both. Peter Quill sold us this ship to help us feel established here and started giving me flying lessons.

Thor invited us to some strange Asgardian ceremonial holiday party, so it seemed the right time to let me get us there on our own wings.

It's our first time road tripping - er, space tripping - and all my lessons of flying with Quill seemed have paid off. Aunt May has been taking lessons too (she asked for a different teacher for reasons she refused to disclose) and both of us are novices on our first long trip alone.

MJ would have loved this - flying. But she's dead. She was gone the day the Earth was attacked. No one saw her die, but no one had seen her since. Bodies were still being pulled from the rubble months after the Avengers had defeated the invasion…

"Peter! I swear you're not actually listening at all."

"I'm… not. I'm really sorry."

"I would say your head is in the clouds, but we're way past clouds."

"Are you ever going to run out of space jokes?"

"I'll run out when it stops being weird."

"It's not that weird…"

"That we're traveling through space without a giant spacesuit to help us breathe like it's no big deal?" Aunt May laughs, and gestures to the wide windshield of black expanse, twinkling with cosmic glitter beyond. "I'll never get used to this. I remember when the moon landing was a big deal, you know." She pauses. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing." Her brows furrow. "You okay?"

"I was just… thinking about that day when the aliens attacked earth. How many people…" I pause. "How many people died."

May nods and looks away. "A lot of people." She fiddles with a small troll doll that Peter Quill had glued to the dashboard. He said it was tradition or something, whatever that means. "You must miss her."

"Yeah," I say softly. "I miss her."

"A lot of people went missing, you know. Bodies never recovered." Aunt May says this with a look of guilt strangely crossing her face. "She could still be alive."

I blink. "It's been two years, Aunt May. You really think MJ is alive?"

"I don't know," she shrugs. "It's just something Tony and Vision said."

"What did they say?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well, I suggested she might still be alive," May sighs. "And Tony said not to give you false hope. That there was no way she was still alive. But Vision said something that stuck with me. He said that where there are civilizations, there is always slavery. We think of human kidnappings and trafficking in terms of just what happens on Earth. But there's a whole universe out there… and people just as bad."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"This is why Tony didn't want me to say anything," she frowns. "But Vision agreed with me. Hundreds and hundreds of people… no, thousands... went missing after the attack. Bodies never recovered from the rubble. Michelle was one of them. Perhaps…" she looks out the window again. "Perhaps she was taken away, and she misses you, too. And maybe we'll find her someday."

I look down at the fuel numbers again. "Thanks for trying to be hopeful, Aunt May. I appreciate it. I do."

"Now," she says, "As I was saying, we are not buying that smaller junkcraft from Starlord. Not yet anyway."

"You don't have to call him Starlord. He only makes people call him that when they're being gullible and he wants to feel important."

"Oh. well. It's easier than calling him Peter. Or Mr. Quill. Neither of those work for me." She reaches over and pats my arm. "I only have one Peter in my life and I'm perfectly happy with that."

"Do you miss New York?" I ask abruptly.

She rests her hands in her lap, fiddling with the edge of her light yellow sweater. "Every day. What about you?"

"Yeah. I do."

The ship drops significantly in speed - the stars that looked like firefly tails are now slow-moving globes beyond. The blushing cosmic clouds of glittering pink are now stationary.

"What's wrong?" Aunt May asks quickly, her voice tightening into worry-panic mode.

"Nothing!" I assure her quickly. "We need a fuel stop." I look at her. "It's okay, this is normal. And we're within range of plenty of planets to go to."

"What's the closest one?"

"Uh… well, I was thinking we could stop at Golemdaal since I've been there before with Quill. But Sakaar is closest."

"What do you know about Sakaar?"

"Well, nothing, really, except it's now accessible per Thor's command. They used to have this big space-whirlpool thing to keep people from being able to fly in… and like, portals from other dimensions all over the place used to dump their garbage here."

"It doesn't sound very friendly."

"Yeah, but Thor found a way to get rid of that. Open atmosphere now. That's where Valkyrie is from, I think. That's where they met. She lived there for years."

"Oh," Aunt May brightens. She likes Valkyrie, all of the two times she met her, and trusts her implicitly. "Well, if that's Valkyrie's home, I don't see any reason why we can't stop."

"Sounds cool. Let's do it."

I punch in the numbers and feel the gentle tilt of the ship, nose pointing towards one small circle of light that shines just a little brighter than the others.

Sakaar; here we come.

...

Next: Sakaar is a very strange place. Perhaps not very safe.

Dear Readers,

If you enjoyed this, please leave me a review and let me know if you find this interesting! I had a totally weird psychotic sort of idea to do yet another film rewrite in the Marvel universe - this time, a retelling of Hayao Miyazaki's "SPIRITED AWAY" - a darker version set in space. Before I knew it I had written three scenes. Then three short chapters. And then SIX short chapters. Writing new little scenes every day. If you are into this, let me know. I'll keep posting, haha.

Love,

Pip

Other Marvel Stories You Can Read!

Avenge the Departed - *COMPLETE!* An epic undercover thriller starring Peter Parker, Deadpool, Tony Stark, Bucky Barnes and Captain America. Peter Parker is planted as an undercover agent for Captain America in the Vulture's illegal weapon's manufacturing crime syndicate. Deadpool has joined the Avengers as Steve's wise cracking, undead partner. Bucky Barnes has come back from the ice, under Hydra's complete control and no one knows. Based on Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED.

The Departed - a repost of the above story (crime and undercover thriller) in a different Avengers category to try and reach more audiences

The Vast Marvel - collection of Marvel one shots! I suggest adding this story to an "alert" for when I post short drabbles!

Deadpool is Pissed - humorous one shot featuring Deadpool, Peter Parker, and Korg.

Down Came the Rain - my first fully fledged Spider-Man fic, starring other Avengers as well. Peter is kidnapped by a rogue NYPD cop, tortured for information on the Avengers, and released. He copes badly with the psychological aftermath. Interlude book between Spider-Man: Homecoming and Infinity War. Told in flash backs and flash forwards like 13 Reasons Why.

Down Came the Rain Retold - a repost of the above fic, and may I say, the far superior version. Told chronologically, scenes are added and expanded, plot holes and timelines fixed, characterization added... easier to read, track with. Plot and character growth is more obvious.

Into Oblivion - EPIC across-the-galaxy AU. Peter Parker's uncle left him an infinity stone, and he'll have to do whatever it takes to get it off planet and destroy it before Thanos can return. Adventure starring many other Avengers and based on The Fellowship of the Ring.

That One Time Peter Parker Accidentally Did Cocaine - yup, based on another crazy dream I had. One shot. Title is exactly how it sounds haha. Peter does drugs, and his totally (alive!) Dad is not happy about it - for more reasons than one. Tony Stark is even worse.