A Bad Man's Second Chance

American Woman


Chapter Two: Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Yondu hadn't expected Peter to bring a plus one but here we are. Yondu Udonta, meet Meredith Quill.


"Ow shit, knock it off kid and sit still-Ow Fuck! Stop Biting!"

The sound of bickering set her ears ringing, and the headache she didn't know she had pounding at her temples. Ugh.

Dazed as she was, getting up- or even opening her eyes for that matter- seemed unwise. But whoever was causing such a ruckus didn't seem like they were going to be stopping any time soon. And she'd much rather that stop sooner rather than later. Before the headache decided to move on into migraine territory.

Moving also turned out to be a bad idea.

"Ow," she groaned, grimacing as the movement pulled at the strange pain near her ear. It felt almost like a pinched nerve, sore and sharp like a bad bruise. Instinctively she reached up to feel the spot and felt- cold? "What...?"

It was cold. Like metal. A small smooth circle, just about the width of her fingertip.

And that was ... strange. Strange enough to motivate the whole "getting up" process into speeding up. Muzzy brain and discomfort be damned.

So, priorities decided, Meredith gathered her strength to open her eyes and sat up.

And blinked.

Oh. That's right. They'd been abducted by aliens. Blue ones.

This particular blue alien was apparently having a hard time with the whole "abduction" thing as her Peter was currently giving it one hell of a fight.

Dangling nearly upside down in the arms of this strange blue alien her little boy was swinging and kicking for all he was worth. Growling like a little wild thing. Snapping his teeth on the sleeves of the alien's long- duster like coat. It was almost comical, and frankly kind of ridiculous...

And as ferociously as he was fighting, it didn't seem to be having much of an effect, as it-he?- as the alien didn't seem more than a little irritated at it all. It was a very male-ish kind of irritation wasn't it?

But for all the noise, he wasn't really trying to hurt her boy from what she could see.

His hold on her son was awkward and clumsy, but still gentle in it's firmness as he tried to wrangle the boy into position. And the expression on his face was a very human-like exasperation, as he tried to juggle both her squirming child and an odd looking contraption in his other hand.

"For fucks's sake," And she blinked again as the alien spoke. His voice a strangely high almost hickish drawl, and wasn't that strange- because otherwise his words were completely understandable, "Just let me- Get- That- Translator in..."

Red eyes met green, and for a second, the alien froze as they blinked at each other.

And caught, Meredith found herself staring up at the second alien she'd ever met.

Meredith had the vaguest inkling that she should be scared.

They'd been abducted by aliens, that should be terrifying right?

But on second thought, not really- because she'd been comfortable with the thought of life in outer space for longer than Peter had been alive.

So instead of being reasonably hysterical, here they were: her boy trying his best to beat up a real live extraterrestrial while she did her best to fight the giggles threatening to bubble up out of her as she lay sprawled out on the floor of an actual real live spaceship.

On second thought, she may be a little hysterical after all.

But it really was a ridiculous sight: her little boy held upside down, with his shirt jacket hanging over his head and his flailing tatty sneakers- leaving a muddy footprint on this exasperated blue aliens face.

A blue alien, with his red eyes and crooked teeth, who was currently staring at her like a raccoon caught rummaging in a garbage bin.

Come to think of it, he was rather regular looking. For an alien. Not that she would know, exactly. The blue was a bit of a surprise as Jason-

"Let me go!" Peter screeched, jolting them out of their stupor as he continued to thrash, "Let Me Go! What did you do to my Mom you bas-" and Peter did a frenetic double take as he finally caught sight of her sitting up as well, "MOM! Mom are you okay- OW!"

Quick as a flash, the alien had taken advantage of her son's momentary distraction from his persistent wriggling to click the device in his hand against the base of Peter's skull, just below his right ear, before shoving the thing into his pocket and dropping her boy like a sack of potatoes on the floor.

"THERE!" He said, dusting his hands off and straightening his coat, "There's that sorted." He rolled his eyes in a very human gesture before looking down towards her, "That boy of yours' a fighter. No mistaking that. Damn near put a hole in my good coat..."

"Um, thanks?" Meredith managed before she got a lap full of Peter.

"Mom! You're okay!" Peter plowed into her in a full body hug, before remembering to be gentle and eased up.

"I'm fine, just a little-," She shook her head, there was a lot going on, "I'm fine. Are you?"

"My head feels funny," He said as she brushed back Peter's hair, and there just behind his ear was a small metallic circle- a simple and yet impossibly intricate looking little thing, with faint little lights ringing around the edge of it pressed into his skin.

"Ah, I wouldn't touch that," The alien said as she reached for it, "Least not for a bit. Translator needs a few seconds to calibrate. Spots probably still sore too. Best leave it be for now."

"It's a translator?" Meredith said, her hand going up to touch the spot behind her own ear- sore, but not painful. In her arms, Peter looked up at her in confusion.

"Yup, should make things easier. In theory. Should make for less biting at the very least. But where are my manners," The alien straighten up and extended a hand down to her.

"Captain Yondu Udonta, welcome aboard the Eclector, Miss Quill."

Helping her to her feet, Yondu took the moment to look them both over.

Meredith Quill. From what little Peter had said of her, she was not what he expected.

The Terran woman was almost dainty looking- all thin bird bones and pale skin. Her hair hanging lank under a knit stocking cap, and wearing light breezy clothes that left her looking positively chilled in the significantly cooler air of recirculated atmo.

But around her neck rested a familiar set of orange headphones. And her eyes were bright and green and startling in how much the reminded him of the Peter he knew...

And then there was the Peter of now.
Chubby cheeked and grass stained- and looking just as tiny as can be as he peeked out from around his mother's thin boney blue-jean clad legs. Goddamn, he was small. Had he always been that tiny? It seemed impossible that this little boy would grow into the man he knew before...

He pointedly does not think about the lack of recognition in those same green eyes.

Instead, turns his focus back on the enigma that is his mother. The living woman herself, who was very much alive and not at all dead.

"You ah, know me?" She asks as she sways on her feet, resting a hand on Peter's head- both to steady and reassure, as Peter tugs at her thin sweater. She looks like a stiff wind would blow her over at any second.

It's unsettling how frail she looks, how tiny Peter looks next to her, and the jarring dichotomy of expectation in the face of reality has him seriously off balance.

"Well," He coughed an awkward chuckle, struggling to find his composure, "I should hope so, seeing as we came all this way-"

"Psst Mom!" Peter hissed up at Meredith as he tugged on her sweater some more, "Mom, the alien's speaking english now!"

The alien.

"Ah, that would be the translator," Yondu nodded sharply, rubbing the bristles on his chin. Pointedly ignoring the sharp pang in favor of being glad for the change of subject, "Glad to see it's working- should probably still get ya both a look over in the infirmary, just in case. Come on, we'll get cha checked out an' then see about getting ya both settled."

Turning, Yondu abruptly marched off into the hall. The Quills skittishly following closely behind, like a second shadow as they gawked at their surroundings.

"Hey wait," Peter said, and wasn't his voice babyish high, "How are you speaking English all of a sudden? Mom, how is he speaking English now?"

"I don't think he is, honey," Meredith said down to her son, a hand around his shoulders keeping him close as she tried to keep pace with Yondu. Her eyes darting around to take in their surroundings before glancing back towards Yondu, "It's the translator, right? How does it work? Other than, you know, the obvious. Translating."

She talked with her hands too, Yondu noticed, like Peter did... Does. Used to?

"Eh, don't know the specifics mind," Yondu said, as he moved with single minded purpose down the hall, "It's andromeda tech. Fancy stuff, but it's so useful you can find just about anywhere in the galaxy for a few units- dirt cheap for the quality too.

"From what I understand," He continued, keying open a door and ushering the Quills through before resuming his leading march, "It's an interpretive nano-algorithm or something like that. Takes what you're intending to say, scrambles it into bits, and the receiver decodes the bits into the best match the brain can understand.

"It ain't nowhere near perfect-," He shrugged, "Especially when you get into idioms and cultural shit. But it's a helluva lot better than trying to learn a half a million dialects for everyday use, I'll tell you that."

"I can imagine," Meredith said faintly. And then smiled, "So, it's like a babel fish."

"Yeah like that. I got no clue what that is."

"So wait," And Yondu froze for a half step as Peter looked up at him from his mother's side, all wide eyed enthusiasm, "Are you saying I can speak a millionlanguages now?!"

"... Something like that," Yondu ground out and opened the door, "We're here. Come on in."

The door swished open, and the Quills stepped in after Yondu, gawking all the way.

Meredith instinctively pulled Peter closer as she spotted the room was full of more aliens. They'd passed a few in the hallways, but at a distance, and Yondu had been walking too fast for them to take in more than just the general sense of strangeness and notice the matching coats- along with the rough and tumble industrial looking framework that made up the spaceships interior, all rusty metallic and neon lights.

While Meredith hadn't been in many spaceships, or any really, she had been in more than her fair share of hospital rooms. This room was noticeably cleaner looking than the rest of the ship, with what looked like an attempt at hospital quality white splashing the walls here and there, lined with shelves and cabinets holding all kinds of strange jars and instruments. There were cot-like beds shoved up against one wall, but the blankets were rough and odd mismatched colors.

But more noticeable at the moment, was the massively large, hairy blue alien currently organizing the shelves of tiny delicate looking jars with remarkable care in his massive hands.

In a cot beside him, lay another blue alien, this one more lanky and tall looking than large. There was a distinctive unfinished quality about this one's features too, like a giant puppy that still hadn't grown into its paws. Which meant that this alien was only going to get bigger which was frankly ridiculous.

Aliens came in primary colors apparently. Mostly blue. Occasionally red.

The red was a surprise as she almost missed the still figure sitting at the table nearby, thin and white skinned, almost as white as the splashes of paint- lending it-him- an odd kind of camouflage. The red she noticed was his hair, dark blood red and smooth looking, that moved when the boy shifted where he was, head bent low over some contraption that was spilling parts all over the table.

At his feet, almost under the table, was a series of large boxes full of insulating papers and straw- rustling ominously.

"Oi Gus," Yondu said as he moved into the room, "Got two for you. Done did the translators already, but give it a looksee- an' give them a scan while you're at it. See if they need to be innoculated. They probably will, seeing as Terra's an isolated dirtball of a planet."

"Hey," Meredith said faintly, as she eyeballed the boxes warily, Peter leaning around her legs to get a closer look.

"Hmm, yes Captain," the very large blue man said as he carefully set the glass vials down.

"Oh uh, I-I'm sure its fine-Eep!" Meredith stuttered out before, surprising speed, the other blue alien was suddenly looming over Meredith, his massive bulk crowding her personal space. She flinched back as he reached for her, but he only brushed her hair aside to examine her behind her ear with that same surprisingly delicate touch.

"Hmmn, looks good," He rumbled, a deep bassy voice but from this close up, Meredith could see the kindness inherent in this giant aliens eyes and she began to relax a little, "You are well? No pain?"

"Uhh, no? No more than usual," Meredith said as she stepped back, patting the big man's hand as she lowered it. Gus just frowned at her and raised his other hand, holding up a strange device that emitted light and whirred as it scanned over her.

"Ahh!" Peter yelped, and Meredith startled as well- turning to look as one of the boxes moved violently... and giggled.

"Nushka? That you?" Yondu said, struggling to keep the amusement out of his voice as he leaned over the table to peer into the box, "What you doin' in there, girly?"

The box shifted and giggled some more, and now Meredith could see a pair of yellow eyes peering up out at them.

The boy at the table just rolled his eyes, "She's been playing in there since we opened them." His voice was the pitch perfect sound of an aggrieved teenager, "They're just boxes, I don't get what she's so excited about. And I need that."

Yondu handed over the tool he'd been fiddling with in his hands, before saying with noticeably put on casualness, "Well that's a shame cause it looks like little Nurse Nush is missing out on some prime doctorin' right about-"

"HERE I AM!" The box burst open to reveal a small black and white fuzzy little girl, with pointy ears and a large curved fluffy tail, and an oversized shirt hanging off of her frame as she waved her hands around excitedly.

"There ya are," Yondu agreed, grabbing the little girl around the armpits to lift her out of the box, "How about you leave the box's be and go see about your new patients yeah?"

"Okay!" She chirped, scampering off to rummage into the big man's pockets as he ignored her in favor of continuing his scan, beaming up at the Quills before peering around Meredith's legs to look at Peter, "Hello, my name is Anushka an' I'm gonna be a doctor when I grow up. What's your name?"

"Um, I'm Peter."

"Here," The big man rumbled, handing Anushka his scanner before lumbering off to rummage through a cabinet.

"So what's the word, Tailor?" Yondu asked, dragging his attention from the amusing sight of Anushka slowly chasing Peter around his mother's legs with the scanner, "They got a clean bill of health or what?

"Hmm,"The big blue man paused in his rummaging, scratching his head in contemplation before shrugging ponderously, "Am no doctor. Scan says yes. But scanner simple. Will give medicine. Just in case."

The big man lumbered back, patting Anushka on the head as her little nose twitched up at Meredith inquisitively, "Here." He said, handing Meredith a small bottle, "Take two each. Back in morning. Will have clothes."

"Right," Yondu said, "Thanks for thinking of that, I was gonna ask. You got anything for them now by any chance? Just Ms. Quill here looks fit to shiver out'a her skin as is."

"Hmmm. Will look."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Anushka asked looking up at Meredith. She'd given up trying to scan Peter in favor of scanning her. The device that had looked small in the big man's hands, took two hands for the little fuzzy girl to operate. Her little nose twitching curiously as Anushka frowned at the scanner, sticking her tongue out in concentration.

"I'm fine," Meredith said, leaning up against a spare bed before using it to sit. Peter looked up at her at that, familier worry in his young eyes, and Meredith smiled tiredly at him, "Just... a little cold and tired. That's all. It's been a... It's been a day."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Yondu said with a nod to as he moved to the other bed, the one with the tall blue boy in it, "Space is cold as hell, an' it's not like I could'a called ahead an' told ya to bring a jacket. We'll get ya kitted out, don't worry bout that. Th' cold, you'll just have'ta get used to."

"And the smell?" Meredith said, wrinkling her nose. She hadn't noticed it right away, but the entire spaceship had a rather distinctive odor. Stale air, sweat, and a strange musty alien funk- it wasn't exactly terrible, but it definitely wasn't what one would call 'fresh air'.

"Have'ta get used to that as well," He said with another nod and a cavalier shrug as he turned his attention to the sleeping giant. There was an awkward gentle care in the way he brushed his hand over the boy's short hair as he looked him over. Almost fatherly in a way. Much like how she was petting Peter's head right now. Familial comfort and reassurance.

"Comes with the territory, 'm afraid. How's that leg coming, Tr'll?"

"It's not a leg yet," The boy at the table deadpanned with a sullen shrug of his own as he continued to laser the pile of junk in front of him without looking up.

"Um, about that," Meredith said, before shaking her head, "Not-not the leg, or whatever that's about- but about the um... whole "abduction" thing... I mean, this isn't my first "close encounter of the third kind" but I'd still like to know... Why did you pick us up, exactly?"

"Yeah about that-," Yondu started awkwardly, before his wrist band chirped an alarm.

Before his runaway dash, Yondu had locked his control console- just a precaution he'd started to take. Now that there were several sets of young curious fingers around itching to press buttons.

And that alarm was letting him know someone was fucking around with his consol right now when they definitely weren't supposed to, "Ah fuck."

"I gotta go to the bridge," Yondu said, straightening up and pulling on an expression Meredith was quickly coming to identify as his 'captaning' face. "Y'all stay here."

"Okay Yondu," Anushka chirped from back inside the box again.

"No, wait, I have questions," Meredith said to Yondu's back as he strode out of the room. Frowning stubbornly, she slipped off the bed she was sitting on.

"Peter," She said looking to her son sternly, "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"What?!" Peter yelped incredulously, "No! Mom!"

"No- wait. What am I thinking," She blinked, shaking her head sharply. Was she crazy? They had just been abducted by aliens . "Alright you stay with me Starlord. Okay?"

"Okay," Peter said with a firm nod, taking her hand. And Meredith nodded back.

"Now, let's go get answers," And with that she was off, dragging Peter behind her as Meredith Quill strode off following the path of Yondu Udonta.

Yondu approached the bridge and found a break-in in progress.

Before the door Kraglin, Willit, and H'ekk huddled around the access panel- heads together as they tried to hack the code and bickering in sotto-voices. Yondu raised an eyebrow at that. If the boys were out here, they obviously weren't the ones messing with his consol- but then Yondu hadn't locked the bridge door when he left either.

A sharp whistle had the boys leaping away from the door. Tucking their hands behind their back guiltily as they feigned innocence in various levels of success.

"Alright Kraglin," Yondu said as he approached, "What's goin on here?"

"Nothing." The boy's chorused in an utterly unconvincing manner- prompting fidgeting as the boy's elbowed each other as they exchanged scowls.

"No, really sir," Kraglin continued at Yondu's unamused look, "It's just- Willit thought Nettle would like time under the sun lamp- but then we're so close to sol, I thought that maybe she'd like time under the real thing. So we um..."

"Nettles on the bridge sir," Willit interrupted, "I swear we didn't mean to leave her on there alone- we were gone just a second and now the doors locked and we can't get in."

"And you thought, rather than get me, you'd get H'ekk to hack it open again," Yondu said deliberately slow as the boys shifted guiltily and shamefaced, "Am I understanding right?"

"Yes sir," Kraglin said, chin up and grim, "I'm sorry sir."

"Yeah well," Yondu rolled his eyes at the boy's theatrics, "Don't do it again, but take it too hard. It's not like a little thing like her can get into too much trouble- she can't reach moren' three feet up as is. But still, don't like to leave her unattended like that."

Keying in the access code, Yondu gave the boys a significant look, "An' this bridge door aint ever supposed to be locked."

The door swished open, and Yondu was treated to the sight of Horuz sitting in his chair. The bearded man jumped guiltily, and Yondu only was able to catch a glimpse of the figure on the screen, a woman with blond hair and pale skin- before it went dark.

"Goddamn it Horuz," Yondu said as he scowled, "How many times I say not to watch porn on the bridge? We got youngins on the ship now too- You do that shit on your own channel."

"R-right sir,"Horuz stuttered, wrongfooted and awkward, "I'll remember that-And I'll just... I'm gonna- I'm gonna go. Now."

"You do that." Yondu said to Horuz's retreating back. Giving his chair a suspicious look over, Yondu sat down in his chair and turned to see Nettle sitting in a beam of strong sunlight- blinking her jewel-like red eyes before grinning up at him.

"Well, at least you don't seem traumatized. But hell if I know, who knows what goes on in that lil yella head of yours."

Nettle just continued to grin, before turning with delight as the boys stormed in.

Quickly followed by Meredith Quill and... her son.

"Hey you, hold up. I have que-" Meredith started strong before trailing off,"...questions..."

In the big window, on the front of the bridge, hung Terra.

Blue and green with whimsical swirls of white, slowly turning in the light of the yellow sun.

Beautiful and serene. It was breathtaking and it stopped Meredith's brewing tirade in its tracks. All thought, all words, escaped her. And she could only stare, drawing her son to her side and holding him close. Awestruck. And marvel.

There it is. Earth. In all its splendor.

There really is nothing quite like seeing your home planet from the perspective of space.

Giving the Quills a moment, Yondu turns to Nettle and the boys.

"Kraglin," Yondu said, nodding to his consol, "You know how to fly a ship?"

"Yes sir!" Kraglin said eagerly, at his side in a moment.

"I'll be the judge of that," Yondu said relinquishing the seat to the boy, "This'll be an easy maneuver through, so figure I'd let you have a try at it. Just take it slow."

"Slow?" Kraglin asked, hands already at the controls.

"Yup. Nice and easy break from orbit," Yondu said with a nod out the front window, "Just a slow retreat for now, don't want any of these primitive wave satellites to pick up on a jump. We'll wait till we get outside the asteroid belt before we do any faster moving."

"Yes sir." Kraglin said, brow furrowed in concentration.

Under the young boys hands, and Yondu's watchful eyes, the Eclector began to move. Smoothly pulling out of orbit, and engaging engines to a mid burn- draw away from Terra. And Yondu had to shake his head, cause for all Kraglin was half the age he remembered, the boy he was now was still a deft hand at piloting.

Trusting his ship was in good, if young hands, Yondu's attention was free to wander.

And wander it did, right back to the Quills.

His boy. And his momma. Still standing, huddled together, not five feet away. Watching the earth, Tera, the only home they had ever known, shrink and fall away. Growing small, and distant. Slowly swallowed up by the stars and darkness of endless space.

This would complicate things. Yondu knew, and couldn't help but worry.

But even under all the worry, Yondu couldn't help but be glad that Peter had his mom back. His boy had worshiped the memory of his mother, clinging to her music and the things she had taught him with love and a fervor that would put most zealots to shame.

But for all that, Yondu knew very little about her. What he did was colored by the perspective of a young boy's fading memory. And Peter hadn't liked to talk about her much. Just that she loved music, had the voice of an angel, and had died of cancer.

Whatever that was. Some kind of crab? Hell if he knew.

One of those weird translation things, that he'd never gotten around to clearing up. Hopefully that would be behind them now, as Meredith was no longer on earth to get eaten by weird terran crustaceans. He'd taken her to the infirmary though, just in case. And that had checked out. More or less.

And for all Yondu cared, Meredith Quill could just go on and keep on living.

And seeing the way Peter hugged his mother, clinging tightly and bundled close- Yondu was glad for him. Even as it kinda put a knife in his heart at the same time.

Yondu liked to think he'd been close to his boy, but it hadn't ever been like that. Hadn't been safe. Sentiment had been frowned on with the crew he'd been running- and he'd had to play fast and loose several times just to make sure Peter saw the next day alive and kicking- if not well and happy about it.

But that didn't mean that he hadn't cared. He cared a lot. Still did. Even now.

Perhaps this was a good thing after all. Yondu hadn't done right by his boy before. But now here he was again, all fresh faced and a blank slate. No hard edged resentment to smooth over, no need to hide any semblance of care. No terrible grief or helpless rage to swallow them up and lash out with... Peter Quill was just a boy again. That was all.

Just a boy. And his mother. And Yondu was the one to abduct them.

Yeah, reforging those bonds stronger was never gonna be an easy task. Always the uphill battle for everything he does in life, but what the hell. Yondu Udonta is gonna try.

There was no power in the universe that was gonna stop him.

Well, maybe one.

And Yondu could feel his stomach drop, as Meredith Quill finally turned away from the window, Tera just a pin prick of light behind them, locked eyes with him, and spoke.

"Did Jason send you?"