Advice for the Young at Heart
By NukaCola101
DISCLAIMER: All characters are copy righted by Disney/Marvel. I own nothing.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So this my first fan-fic based around the Guardians of the Galaxy and I decided to make it a de-aged story. A bit of a gamble, but hopefully this will pay off; I have already tried my hand at a kid fic with The Avengers and that one went over well ("Four Superheroes and a Tsarevna"). Read and Review!
"You just had to piss them off, didn't ya Quill?"
"Shut up!"
Guess old habits die hard. What started out as a simple cease and desist of a local space pirate gang had led the group now in a dog fight with them. As the Milano zipped back and forth in between rocks and space debris (not to mention dodging laser beams that the pirates where firing at them), Peter Quill, also known as Star Lord (to those who actually knew who he was), gritted his teeth in frustration. The asteroid belt they were in was cluttered with crap, thus making maneuvering extremely difficult.
"We've only known each other for, oh I dunno…awhile now and that mouth of yours never ceases to amaze me." Rocket told his leader.
"First off, I figured a joke would help lighten the mood. And second, I thought I'd spruce up on my off-colored humor."
"You should fire your agent, Quill." The small, but feisty raccoon fired back while also literally firing the ship's guns at their assailants and missing. Rocket cursed his bad luck, but didn't hold back after reloading.
"Guys, save your quarrel for later and let's just get the hell out of here!" Gamora snapped at her partners. She was watching the navigation grid trying to set a clear path for the ship.
Drax and Groot where strapped in their seats watching from the windows, surveying the enemy ships that where creeping in closure toward them.
"They're nearly on our tail!" Drax informed.
"Gamora, did you find a path yet?" Peter asked his co-pilot.
"I found one! But we're going to have to hyper jump to use it." she said.
"Works for me."
Since they had made themselves comfortable on the Milano, each of the newly formed Guardians of the Galaxy had contributed to making improvements on the ship. At first this upset Peter; the Milano was his pride and joy, his baby. But after going over what they were (and weren't) allowed to do, he eased his worries. But Rocket was the one to watch out for. That little bastard had an itchy mechanic's finger and was always tinkering away at something. So it was no surprise that the furball had made some adjustments to the hyperdrive. Rocket lessened Peter's concerns over said tweaks to the core.
"Don't worry your pretty little head off, princess. When the time comes to use the hyper jump, it'll be so smooth that it won't knock Groot outta his pot."
The small sapling wiggled in delight when Rocket mentioned his name.
"If you say so. Hey! Did you just call me princess?!"
Rocket let out a hearty chuckle. "Well, you do act like one when it comes to the well-being of this ship…princess." Peter flipped off his friend, to which Drax then had to ask what exactly was wrong with the man's finger.
Back to the matter at hand, now wasn't the time for Peter to have any apprehensions about the hyperdrive. Flipping back the clear cover to the button, he warned everyone about the jump.
"Buckle up folks. Things are gonna get bumpy."
He slammed his fist on the glowing red button and the engines whirled. The sudden burst of speed caused the group to be pressed hard against their seats as the ship jumped into warp speed. With a bright flash of white light, the Milano disappeared from the pirates' view, leaving the scoundrels in shock. Just where did those a-holes vanish to?
In some far-off part of the galaxy, the Milano popped up via a splash of white light. Now floating in the vast sea of stars, the crew breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whoo!" Peter cried. "We lost them."
"Damn straight! What'd I tell ya? Smooth as silk." Rocket prided himself over the successful jump.
"Excellent, my friends!" Drax congratulated his team mates. He then noticed Groot's worried expression as the tree noticed Gamora's chair was empty.
"I am Groot." The tree man said, pointing to the chair.
"Rocket. I do believe Groot has made an important observation." Drax alerted the small animal. The raccoon turned to his friend and saw what the matter was.
"Shit. Hey Quill, Gamora's gone."
"What?!" Peter also saw the empty chair. "Quick, search the ship." he instructed.
The four hastily got up from their seats and began to try to find Gamora. Each of the men was worried for their team-mate, hoping she was not injured or worse…
They turned up empty-handed. While pondering what to do next, a loud bang was heard in the air ducts above their heads. The group looked up, curious as to what had caused the noise.
"Did I just hear something rattling in the air ducts?"
"You are not the only one, Peter. I have heard a thud as well." Drax said as another bang followed.
"So, who's gonna check it out?" Rocket said and then realizing he put his own foot in his mouth. Sighing in frustration, Rocket sulked over to his toolbox and dug out his flashlight.
"Come one, big guy." The raccoon said to Groot. "I'm gonna need a boost."
Groot unhinged the opening to the air duct and gently placed Rocket inside. After switching on their ear pieces to communicate with one another, Rocket started to crawl on all fours in the duct, using the flashlight to shine ahead of him.
"Jesus, these ducts are dirty! You'd think you would have these things cleaned out once a year, Quill."
"Then I nominate you Rocket. You're practically a living feather duster and I get to save some credits too!" Peter quipped.
Rocket huffed in annoyance, but chose not to respond. Suddenly, a shadow scurried past him. Rocket paused and then slowly moved forward, not wanting to irritate whatever was in the air duct with him. Drax, Peter and Groot watched from below, wondering why Rocket was so quiet.
"What the-?! AAAHH!"
All of a sudden Rocket shot out of the air duct like a bullet being fired from a gun. Groot caught the small beast like a football and cradled Rocket in his massive arms.
"Rocket!"
"I'm fine. That little shit kicked me with such force it took me by surprise."
"Did you manage to get a good look at whatever hit you?" Drax said after Groot placed Rocket on the floor.
"Not really. But I think it was a kid."
"A kid?!" both Peter and Drax exclaimed. "Why would a kid be on the ship?" Peter questioned.
"Who knows, but they can't hide in the air ducts forever." Rocket said, eyeing the thermostat on the wall with a wicked gleam in his eye.
"No!" Peter scolded. "We're not gonna roast'em outta there!"
"Perhaps I can coax the little one to come out." Drax offered.
"Good idea."
Grabbing a nearby stool, Drax hoisted himself up and called out to the child. "Young one. You are not in any trouble. We can offer you the help you need. All you need to do is just come out of hiding."
Silence, but then a stir. A shuffling noise was coming closer to the opening and then stopped. Drax saw that it was indeed a child. It was a little girl who could have been no more than seven years old with her back pressed against the wall of the duct. Her jet black hair was messy and hung just below her shoulders. She wore an over-sized black t-shirt, now covered in dust and crumpled from crawling around inside the duct. The child grasped Rocket's flashlight he left and aimed the beam of light at Drax. He squinted, trying to see the girl who was clearly scared and nervous.
"Who are you?!" demanded the girl.
"I am called Drax the Destroyer. And who might you be?"
"I'm not telling you anything! You stay away from me!"
"But my comrades and I only want to help you."
"No!"
"Drax, let me give it a go." Peter then got up on the stool and peered into the duct. A bright light shown directly in his face making Peter quickly close his eyes in irritation. "Hey! Turn off the high beams, will ya?"
Hesitating, the little girl complied after careful thought. Dimming the flashlight, Peter opened his eyes once more and was able to get a better view of the child. Aside from the black hair and clothing, the girl's skin was an all too familiar shade of green that was akin to Gamora's own. Could it be? No, that was ridiculous!
"That's better. Now, why don't you come out of this dusty air duct? Out here's pretty sweet."
"Why should I?" the little girl spat at Peter.
"Because being in an air duct is not the most comfortable place on this ship. And I know first-hand it's not."
Peter recalled he accidentally got stuck in one of the air duct openings while trying to repair the ship one day. With his backside protruding in the air, Rocket was in stitches laughing at the former thief's plight and got a couple of good swift kicks to Peter's butt. It took both Drax and Groot to pull Peter free. "I felt like Winnie the Pooh for a bit." Peter commented after being freed, to which his team mates gave him quizzical looks. He reminded himself to show the aliens a video of the famed children's character in order for them to better understand the context of the joke.
The girl eyed Peter with suspicion. Perhaps this man was right, being in an air duct was no fun and it was pretty dirty as she let a tiny sneeze escape to show just how dusty they were.
"Alright, I'll come out."
Peter smiled; glad to see that the youngster was cooperating. He helped the girl out of the air duct and set her down. She fixed her large shirt as it was long enough to be considered a dress on her tiny body. She looked around and took in her surroundings.
"What a weird bunch of men he sent to guard me." The child said.
"Weird, huh?" Rocket crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. "Listen kid, you ain't seen nothing yet. Groot."
Groot nodded and produced a vine with flowers growing from his palm. The little girl's eyes widened with awe.
"Wow! OK, that was pretty weird." She replied.
"And just who is this 'he' you refer to?" Drax asked the child.
"My father. Well, my adopted father."
"What's your dad's name?" Peter pondered.
The little girl twisted her shirt nervously, not wanting to reveal the true identity of her father to these unfamiliar men before her. Peter knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Peter with her dark brown eyes and saw him smile at her. The man's easy-going demeanor let the youngster know that they weren't going to harm or threaten her.
"I know you're scared, but I promise the four of us will make sure you get home safe and sound. So, tell me. What's the name of your dad?" Peter calmly stated.
The child, though still uneasy, took a deep breath and told Peter, Drax, Rocket and Groot the name of her father.
"Thanos. Thanos is the name of my father."
It was as if a nuclear bomb had been detonated. This had caused the heroes to be silent over the shock of this revelation. No one knew how to respond. It was Peter who broke the silence between them, hoping to ease the uncomfortable air in the room.
"If Thanos is your father…then you must be Gamora?"
"Yes." The little girl answered.
"Uh, wow…" Peter was normally quick to defer any situation with his wit and charm, but this was one of those times he didn't know what to do next. Luckily, it was Drax who came to rescue.
"Would you like something to drink, Gamora? I bet being up in those air ducts has made you very thirsty."
"Yes, please."
Drax then escorted the now juvenile former assassin to the galley leaving Peter, Rocket and Groot to themselves.
"Well, now we know what happened to Gamora." Rocket said to the still in shock Peter.
"And I know what caused her to become a kid again." The thief glared at the raccoon in anger.
"Whoa now! Let's not play the Blame Game."
"Bullshit! I should have never let you and your grubby little paws touch the Milano's hyper drive core!"
"Piss off, Quill! That drive needed to be tuned up!"
"I AM GROOT!"
Both Rocket and Peter stared at the tall tree man. Groot's enraged glare was a silent, stern warning to stop their squabbling.
"You're right Groot. Fighting's not gonna get us anywhere." Rocket muttered in guilt over his behavior.
Peter agreed. "We need to come up with a plan and fast. Emergency meeting, stat!"
After seeing that Gamora was alright and taken care of, the four went into the storage room just across from the galley to discuss what to do with their now young team-mate.
"How's she doing, Drax? Is she OK?" Peter asked him.
"Gamora is fine. She seems to have no memory of when she was an adult. She believes that Thanos has hired us to watch over her while he is away. The child also asked me when she will be able to return home as well. Apparently, Thanos used to abandon Gamora for long periods of time in order to develop the biological implants and training regiments she received when she was originally a child."
"It also didn't help when you promised her to return her home. And lord knows we can't do that!" Rocket reminded Peter. "Better put that mouth of yours to good use, pretty boy and come up with a plausible story."
"But will she buy it?"
The heroes looked at one another, wondering what the other was thinking.
"Children are impressionable, but also very bright." Drax's observation did carry truth. He had been a father himself before his own daughter was cruelly killed by the late Ronan the Accuser under Thanos' command.
It seemed that the little girl did trust her "appointed" guardians and would take their word to heart. So after going over various probable stories to tell her, the group finally agreed on an explanation that would (hopefully) not make Gamora doubt her reasons for being on the Milano. Peter, Drax, Rocket and Groot filed into the galley and sat down at the table with the child. Gamora was busy eating a slice of some type of sweetened pound cake and a glass of milk when they entered.
"Mr. Drax, thank you for the snack. It was delicious!"
"You are most welcome."
"So, when will I be able to go home? I miss my father so much." Gamora noticed the hesitation from the men and began to grow concerned. "I'm not going to go home right away?" she said in a sad voice.
"Not yet." Peter replied. "Your father has some important work that is going to take a long time to complete."
"He's always working. He never has time for me. And when he does spend time with me, Father is training me how to fight and defend myself…and other things." Gamora quietly said in the same unhappy tone.
"What other things does he do to you?" Rocket inquired.
The girl averted her eyes, letting the men know it was a painful subject to talk about. The raccoon knew this expression all too well. It was one he also saw during his days as an unwilling test subject…perhaps when Gamora was more comfortable talking about it; he could offer her words of support.
"But we're not like that, Gamora. We will never push you into anything that makes you feel like crap." Peter reassured her.
"Really?"
"Yes. In fact, since Thanos left us in charge; we're going to have some fun. Maybe even break a few rules." The thief's charisma and mischievous attitude made the seven year old smile.
"And Father will never know?"
"We won't tell if you don't. Right guys?" Peter winked at the aliens. While Rocket and Groot caught on to Peter's underlining plan, Drax was confused. Despite he had learned most Terran figures of speech; there were still many that required an explanation from Peter. Quickly composing himself, Drax nodded and chuckled in embarrassment.
"So, are you in or out, kid?" Rocket said in the same rascally attitude as his leader.
"In!" Gamora happily cheered.
While they had convinced the seven year old Gamora that her time with her adult team mates was going to be filled with fun and games, the galactic heroes realized that they had another major issue on their hands: the malfunctioning hyperdrive.