Title: Don't Call Me Rodent
Summary: After a heated argument that almsot tears the Guardians apart, Rocket steps out for some air and comes face-to-face with a ghost from his past...
A/N: Hey everyone! So welcome to my first ever fic! I'm a big fan of comics and the Marvel movies as a whole so I hope I do them justice. These characters all have special places in my heart and I wanted to create new stories with them and sort of give back to the fandom as a whole. Hope you enjoy it! (P.S. I wanna give a huge shoutout to starsinjars for insprining me to get into fic writing and showing me the ropes you the best! You should check out her stuff it's super good)
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Rocket stumbles out of the dive bar and into the darkened alleyway in a drunken stupor. The night has not been kind to him. "Calling me rodent...who does he
think he is? How DARE he?!" He angrily mutters to himself. He had just gotten into an almost fatal brawl with Drax after both of them had gotten extremely
drunk. If Peter hadn't shown up to talk some sense into them, the team would've been down a few members. During the fight, Drax had unknowingly hit a
nerve in Rocket, which was multiplied because of the alcohol. No one EVER calls Rocket a rodent. Not after all that he had been through. Not after all the pain
and the experiments. Rocket's mind wandered to those horrible days back in the lab on his home world. When cold men in white coats took him away from his
family and created a monster. Rocket stumbled to the ground and leaned against a nearby wall. The emotions overwhelmed him and tears poured downhis
face. He looked up at the stars over Knowhere the question he always asks himself, "Why am I alive? Why me?". He thought of the rest of the Guardians. They
didn't really care for him. They're just all together for the money. That's it. No one really cares about the monster. Except maybe Groot, but Rocket always felt
like he was too soft. Too good for this line of work.
As Rocket was consumed by these thoughts, a mysterious figure managed to waltz towards him without noticing. It was too dark to see his face. Tall,
foreboding, and perpetually grinning, the man looked down at Rocket and said in a calming voice," Ah there you are, it's been a while hasn't it? I missed you
Subject 89P13, or should I say... Rocket? Hehehe" he said Rocket in a playful, sarcastic tone. Rocket looked up in surprise and quickly backed up, all his hair and
his tail standing on edge. "W-who the hell are you?! And what did you just call me?!" The figure advanced towards him calmly while Rocket frantically backed
up, trying to reach for his gun. "You really don't remember me? I'm a little hurt Rocket. All those days we spent together in the lab, making you strong. Making
you what you are today. But I'm afraid we have to turn you into something else. You have to evolve now Rocket. That is the way of the world." As the man
continued to approach brandishing some sort of knife, Rocket had backed himself into a wall. The man got closer and closer. His fear mixed with anger. Rocket
managed to grab his gun and held it at the ready, hands shaking. "You...WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" The man looked down
at Rocket like a father would at their punished child "Like I said Rocket, I'm here to transform you. When you left us all those years ago, we weren't quite
finished with you. We didn't get to put the finishing touches on you. So you've been running around here an unfinished work, a-" Rocket cut him off. "A
monster? I know what I am! I know what you freaks turned me into! And there's no way in hell I'm going back with you!" Rocket tried to put up his usual tough
guy demeanor but he was terrified. All those memories of the lab kept replaying in his head. The man chuckled; he was enjoying the hunt immensely. He bent
down and got closer to Rocket's face, holding the knife close to it. The man didn't care about Rocket's gun pointed straight at him. Rocket was trembling at this
point. He smelled of chemicals and death. He was death. Rocket got a better look at his face. It was scarred by chemicals and claw marks. The scars made it
look like he was perpetually grinning. His eyes always seemed dilated, always loving every moment. "Rocket, Rocket, Rocket, we can make you stronger. We
can make you more than you already are. Come with me. You think those so called friends of yours care about you? You know what you are, do you think
anyone could really care about someone like you? You don't even love you." Tears streamed down Rocket's face again. He was accepting his fate. "We made
you more than the Rodent you were. Let us help you evolve" That word. That word snapped him out of it. Rocket pushed his gun into the man's stomach, the
man was shocked. "DONT YOU EVER CALL ME RODENT! I KNOW WHAT I AM! YOU WANTED A MONSTER, WELL HERE I AM!"And then Rocket pulled the trigger and
blasted the man away.
The man let out one last laugh "hehehe...you'll never escape who you are. You'll never escape...us". And the scarred man was dead. Rocket was shaking
with anger and dropped to his knees and began to cry again. Groot heard the shot and stepped outside into the alleyway and saw the scene. He gasped at
the body and then saw Rocket and ran to him. Groot didn't know what to say, so he simply wrapped his friend in his arms. They sat there together in the alley
for a whole, as Groot repeatedly said "I am Groot (I'm here. I'm here)". Rocket knew what he was. And he's ready.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: Hey congrats for making it to the bottom! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Stay tuned for more!