Hello :)
This is my first dip in the pond of the MCU, so pardon me if somethings won't make sense!
I've just recently seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and, spoiler alert, I am not ok with Yondu's death. Nope, not even a little. So here I am with a slight AU and a brand new, thoroughly researhed OC. Be kind to her, alright?
This work begins sometime before the start of the second movie, but it will eventually cover that as well, so buckle up, we're going on a space adventure!
CHAPTER ONE
XANDAR – Capitol of the Nova Empire
It was the middle of the work day, the streets were buzzing with activity, and people crowded every corner of the ever busy city; no one was paying attention to her, an anonymous face in a sea of colorful aliens, all going about their business. Eyien was whistling a melody under her breath, her eyes, seemingly unfocused, were scanning string after string of information pouring on the visor she kept on her left eye, waiting to pinpoint the exact piece she was looking for. Sitting on the edge of one of the several fountains that seemed to litter the plaza, she was the most inconspicuous person that there ever could be around, her feet keeping the tempo of her melody, masking the slight buzz she could feel up her back while she whistled. She kept at it for a while, until what she was looking for popped on the screen.
"Gotcha!" she happily sing-songed under her breath.
Her right hand, hidden in the pocket of her bomber jacket, moved quickly over the portable mini keyboard, and soon enough her earpiece binged in confirmation of the transaction.
Thirty thousand units had just been transferred to one of her many accounts, directly from one 's pockets.
Sweet.
Another easy job completed, now all that remained to do was enjoy the rest of the day in peace and quiet. Maybe she'd have a drink in her fancy hotel room (that had been completely covered by her previous job, naturally), just to pass the time before her new client made itself known.
Life as a Tracer was much more comfortable and easy than when she was a mercenary; for starters, she didn't have to be around unwashed men all day long, and secondly, there were less people who tried to kill her. Sure, there were dangers, but at least she could ease them away while soaking in a luxurious bathtub.
She stretched with a yawn as she raised from the fountain, her jacket and tee raising with the movement, baring her violet midriff to the public eye. Not that anyone would notice or say anything about it, mind you; Xandar's society was extremely open minded and varied, there was no thing as too much skin. On the contrary, she was probably overly dressed for the latest fashion.
Pressing a button behind her ear, her visor disappeared, and Eyien replaced it with a pair of sunglasses; they were definitely outdated, but she had taken a shine on the item since the first time she had fund them in a stall of a random vendor. Almost out of instinct, her lips parted slightly, and Eyien started to whistle once more. The notes to Vivaldi's Spring flowed out of her mouth in perfect harmony, and once more she blessed the day she had managed to find that radio station coming from Terra that had broaden her musical knowledge impressively. Xandarian culture wasn't too big on music that wasn't electronically produced, and her mother had never had the time to teach her the melodies that her people used to fight with, so she had made up her own.
With nothing more to do for the day, Eyien made her way to the hotel, whistling all the way, with her hands casually placed in her bomber's pockets. There was nothing pressing she needed to do, nor any preoccupation crossing her mind, which was just perfect with her.
She spared a glance towards an area that was stilled crossed out and off limits; reparations were still ongoing in some parts of the city, and she wistfully remembered the events of almost three years before, when the Guardians of the Galaxy had saved Xandar from Ronan's attack. She had been shocked and amused in equal parts to know who exactly Star Lord was, and even more so when he had successfully obtained the help of the Ravagers for his plan.
She was still chuckling at the thought of those mercenaries playing the part of the good guys, when she reached the lobby of the Hotel she was staying at. Her eyes immediately caught sight of the three figures standing at the receptionist's desk; they were Nova Corps Officers, and they didn't look like they were making casual conversation with the woman behind the desk.
Eyien hissed in displeasure, quickly hiding behind one of the pillars that adorned the lobby; her hand activated her visor, automatically enhancing both her vision and her hearing.
" – looking for this woman," the man at the front said, presumably showing the employee an holo "she goes by the name of Tracer" he went on, crossing his arms over his chest.
Eyien had to restrain herself from muttering a string of curses out loud when the officer gave her Alias. Good thing she never went by that when she registered in any accommodation; that was a name that only her clientele knew her by, which meant that she could go around using her real name without a problem.
"I'm sorry officer, we do not have anyone registered to that name here" the Receptionist replied, her eyes focused on the screen in front of her.
Eyien breathed in relief too soon.
"Can you look at the picture once more? Maybe she's going under a different name" the officer insisted, shuffling the holopad a little closer to her.
The woman, a pretty kylorean with cotton candy pink skin, lifted her eyes from one screen to another, diligently following the officer's instructions. Everyone on Xandar was big on following the rules; well, almost everyone, at least.
The perfectly shaped eyebrows of the woman tightened in a frown, and for several seconds Eyien dared not breath.
"Actually, now that I look at her…I think I've seen her around here in the past few days. She doesn't look quite like that, but I would recognize her eyes anywhere, they are so pretty" the Receptionist replied, offering a gentle smile to the man.
Behind her hiding spot, Eyien didn't know whether to groan in frustration or feel flattered by the compliment.
"Can you tell me which room she's staying at?" the man asked, a certain kind of urgency coloring his words.
The employee remained silent for a few moments, probably lost in thought.
"If you can send me that picture, I should be able to trace it in our archives. We always keep track of our guests with a facial ID" she supplied helpfully.
Eyien eyes bulged out of her head for a split second. That was bad news. She definitely needed to scram, like right now!
The program would need at least a couple of minutes before it could identify her, and she could add another few by bugging it with some annoying adds, but more than that…
Taking a deep breath, she rounded the pillar, paying attention to keep her back to the reception desk and the Nova Corps as her hand swiftly run across her keyboard. A moment later she heard the receptionist huff in annoyance, and she knew her time limit would start to go down soon. Trying to keep her steps casual, she made her way to the elevator, pressed the button, and jumped in.
Her heart was beating like crazy, and she could feel sweat starting to trail down her back under her tee.
I just need to get my bag and go, she mused to herself.
Realization hit her when she was about midway to her floor.
I don't have a way out set up! Shit!
Fay was to prepare her transport off of Xandar in two days, meaning she was stuck on the planet.
Fuck it, I'll wing it. I can borrow someone's ship for the time being!
With that settled, she bolted out of the elevator the second the door opened, and made a bee line for her room. She didn't have time to pack all of her things, and she begrudgingly decided to leave them behind; what mattered was all of her work equipment, which was thankfully already packed. With one last sweep across the room, to make sure she wasn't leaving anything relevant behind, she grabbed the bag, slid it across her shoulders, and then she was out.
The emergency stairs were the safest bet to get down, at least for the first ten floors or so, where she could be sure she wouldn't run in the Nova Corps officers.
She honestly hadn't expected them to catch up to her so quickly; usually her tracks were better covered, but they must have had more tracking programs in place than she thought. That, or someone had give up her name to them.
Fuck.
It was the last time she accepted to steal anything from the Nova Prime ever again!
She reached the ground floor fairly quickly, and immediately headed towards the service entrance. She noticed too late the woman that was standing guard just in front of the door, and before she could do anything else, she felt the magnetic pull of the gun drag her in.
"Not on my watch!" she muttered under her breath, one hand already sneaking in her pocket. She only had to push a key, and the influence of the gun disappeared.
She smirked; she'd been in the line of work for several years now, there was no way they would catch her unprepared and without safety measures in place, especially on her own person.
Eyien could see the confused eyes of the agent widen behind her helmet, and before she could think of anything else to do, the momentum of Eyien run and the gun had jerked her forward, making her barrel directly into the Nova Corps' agent. The women went down both with a huff, but Eyien was back on her feet in a handful of seconds; without any kind of armor to weigh her down, she had the upper hand in her escape.
She was well on her way to the nearest dock bay when the reinforcement arrived; four units in their ships, all trying to either flank her or outrun her.
Eyien had broke in a mad run since the hotel, her chest burning with fatigue with every breath she took; she wasn't used to this kind of workout, not since she had quit her mercenary life anyway, but she still had it in her somehow, and managed not to die before she actually made it in the space port.
Luckily for her, it seemed that a transport had just touched down, meaning a multitude of people was crowding the bay's floor, making it easy for Eyien to lose her pursuers.
At some point, when she was sure she had managed to confuse herself with the many travelers, she slowed down, fixed the bag on her shoulders, and quietly walked around.
When she turned on her visor, the VI started to point out which ships of smaller size were currently unoccupied and ready to be borrowed.
"Jackpot!" she hummed in approval as her eyes fell on a sweet piece of tech gingerly parked, screaming for her to take it.
It was a relatively small ship, but still big enough to host three-four members of a team.
Not that she had any, anyway.
Trying to come off as casual as she could, she sauntered towards the ship, only stopping once she reached what she presumed was the way in. Surely enough, a small panel was placed beside the entrance, and she made short work of it. In under a minute the door swooshed open, and Eyien hurried inside.
Only when the metal door was safely sealed behind her, she gave in to her curiosity, eyes rooming around to give her an idea of whom she was stealing from. Nothing particularly relevant caught her attention until she was standing on the upper level's bridge.
Three chairs – two of which were presumably the pilot and copilot's chairs, occupied the space, a screen stuck in the middle of the two front ones. She wandered towards what she thought was the pilot seat, leaving her duffel bag on the ground next to it, and sat down.
She knew very little on how to skillfully fly a ship, but she knew enough to get the hell out of there.
When she was settled, her hands moved almost automatically, switching levers and pressing buttons, until the engine was roaring to life.
Eyien reclined back in the chair while she waited for the authorization for takeoff, her hands going to rest on the sides. She looked down in confusion when her right brushed something, only to see a collection of mini trolls and bobbles decorating the small metal corridor of the armrest.
Her brows knitted in confusion, but her head was immediately taken somewhere else when the ok came through the system: she was ready and eager to leave.
Something in the back of her mind told her that the name displayed on the screen under the authorization should have ticked her off, but she couldn't put her hands on it, so she let it go in one of her many mental boxes, and forgot all about it.
Two hours later she had left the Empire's Space, and finally she let herself relax.
Stretching her limbs over the console in front of her feet, she reached down in her bag and produced a small bag of chips. It opened with a satisfying pop, and Eyien almost moaned as the sweet aroma hit her nose; those were her favorite in the whole universe, and there was only one place where they produced them, a place she was currently on route to. She had already texted Fey through a secure channel, letting xe know she was already off world and wouldn't be around for a while. Xe had let her know that xe would keep an eye out for more news on her behalf.
All that was left now, was to drive this ship to safety, sat up base at her run down flat (the first she had ever bought and lived in, actually) and work on understanding how or who had rattled her out to the Nova Corps.
She was about three jumps from her destination when suddenly her ship started beeping like crazy, automatically halting her course; before she could even process what in the fucking hell had just happened, a barrage of ships appeared in front of her, successfully building a wall in front of her escape route.
Her ship went silent all of a sudden, and Eyien felt every muscle in her body tense up.
A lonely beep resonated ship-wide, and the big screen in between the two front sit lit up: someone was hailing her ship.
Gulping down a sudden block in her throat, Eyien accepted the call.
The face that appeared on screen had her eyes bulge in shock and recognition, and suddenly her brain registered why the name Yondu Udonta sounded so fucking familiar to her.
"Hello lassie. It appears you have something of mine, mind giving it back?"
Well, shit.