Tomorrow's Guardians

By Michael Weyer

Okay, quick note. At the time of the writing of the first chapter, I was unaware Halston Sage would be leaving The Orville so soon into season 2. Had considered switching it around so she stayed a bit but realized Jessica Szohr is joining as a security chief from the same planet as Alara so would fit in with her own strength and such. I already fixed the first chapter so it's now the character of Talla instead of Alara as security chief. Just clearing it up there.

Ed Mercer had never been one for a serious cup of coffee. But some days, when drinking on duty wasn't acceptable, he had to be open to anything to soothe the nerves. He took a long and slow drink, letting the liquid pour down his throat. He carefully placed the cup down on his desk before fixing his features on the group sitting in front of him. "All right…who wants to go first?"

Kelly licked her lips as Ed had to note that, even with a huge bandage around her head and a black eye, she was still the more beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Next to her, Talla shuffled in her seat and winced a bit as she felt the cast on her right arm issue some pain. In the next chair, Bortus was ramrod straight as usual and gazed out, ignoring how it appeared half his skin had been exposed to some sort of huge light like a very bad suntan.

"It was…complicated, sir," Talla began.

"Complicated?" Ed's eyes widened. "Lieutenant, 'complicated' is getting the recording device in my quarters to work right with the proper timer. I have three members of my senior staff with injuries, another half dozen well-trained Union marines in sickbay, my chief engineer with a broken jaw and damage to a major part of this ship! How about you try and uncomplicate this for me?"

Talla took a deep breath. "We arrived on the planet just before getting the message that you'd found the larger Krill ship in orbit. We took down a shuttle with me, Bortus, Snart and a few security officers. When we got there, the situation was….well…"

The sounds of battle could be heard for quite a distance as the Union officers raced to the main clearing. A loud yelling got their attention as a Krill soldier was seen flying through the air to crash into a tree. The group came to a stop as they saw a collection of strange figures attacking the Krill troops and holding their own. From a massive walking tree to someone using a miniature flamethrower, the group was handling the enemy forces well.

"Who the hell…" Talla began. She glanced to Snart, who was staring in utter wonder before breaking out into a rare laugh. "Of course…who else?" He moved forward, firing a blast of his weapon that emitted a blast of white energy. It struck one Krill, who stiffened in place as a sheen of ice covered him.

Sara whirled about to stare in shock at the figure. Ray and Mick were soon joining her, both equally rocked by his arrival. "Len?" Mick whispered. He looked over to Ray. "You see him too, right?" Ray could only nod

Sara was staring in wonder although she wasn't as shocked as one might expect. After all, it was hardly as if she'd seen someone believed to be dead alive again and that list included herself. "Snart? Is that…"

Len smirked. "Hey, Sara. Huh, even sexier now."

"How…" Ray began.

"Maybe shelve it for now?" Len stated, nodding to the Krill. Mick had a massive grin on his face as he fired off his flamethrower and Len joined in.

Talla and Bortus exchanged confused looks as they saw the masked figure firing off blasters while two women with differing skin colors slashed at other Krills with large swords. The raccoon scurrying around with a huge gun was just the icing on the cake. Shrugging, they moved in to fire off their weapons and help drive the Krill back.

"Wait, wait," Ed said, holding up his hand. "Snart knows these people?"

"Some of them," Talla answered. "To be honest, sir, we couldn't make heads or tails out of their conversation…."

Mick moved to embrace Len, who seemed startled at the move. Mick broke off to frown. "Hold it. You're not gay, are you?"

Len blinked. "No."

Mick laughed and went right back to hugging him. Len was startled as Ray did the same thing. "Let go of me, Palmer." Ray did so. Len smiled to Sara. "Looking good, Canary."

"Easy, Len," Mick stated. "She's got a girlfriend now."

Snart merely shrugged before looking around. "Huh. Where's Stein and the kid?"

The trio's faces sobered. "Stein…died," Sara stated.

Len's smirk vanished. "Damn. I kinda liked the old guy." His eyes narrowed. "Jax?"

"He left right afterward," Ray explained. "We ran into him a bit ago, he's doing great, married with a kid and everything." By this point, most of the Krill had been taken down. The others were being rounded up by the Union troops, placed on their knees with hands behind their heads.

"Huh, so another Len Snart?" Zari asked as she came forward. Sara took a few moments to make introductions to the other Legends with Len nodding. The Guardians appeared a bit confused by all this but putting up with it.

"Okay, big question," Sara announced. "How are you alive?"

"Hey!" The group all turned to see Talla stepping forward. "How about who are you people?"

"I got a better one," Peter snapped. "Who are you people?"

"I have a better one…"

"Not again, Drax!"

"We're from the Union ship, the U.S.S. Orville," Talla announced.

Sara looked to Snart who quickly answered. "The Planetary Union. Basically, think Star Trek." The group nodded in understanding. "Just don't bring it up before them, it's a touchy subject." He turned to face Bortus. "It's okay, I know them."

"How?" the figure rumbled.

"It's…complicated. But I can vouch for them." He looked to the Guardians. "Except those guys."

Quill stepped forward. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm Star-Lord."

Talla and Bortus looked to each other and back to him. "Who?" they asked in unison. Peter let out the tired sigh of someone used to this treatment.

Bortus brought himself up. "We must learn more of you and your intentions upon this planet. We will ask you to accompany us to our ship."

Drax crossed his arms. "And if we refuse?"

Bortus simply stared at him. "Do not."

The two teams looked at each other as Snart stepped forward. "Listen, I know they can be stuffy but they do have resources and if I know you guys, you're already in a jam, right?" Sara had to agree with that. "So come on, let's just trust for once and try to settle this fast."

Sara cocked her head at him. "You really have changed."

Len shrugged. "I've been through a lot. Come on, Sara, just once, try to do something calmly."

"It would be a new experience."

Ed rubbed his temples. "All right. So you brought them up in those two ships which are now in our hanger and evidentially, one has locked itself off to us. Fine, I get it. But tell me exactly whose idea it was that rather than go straight to sickbay for examinations, you brought these groups to the mess hall?"

Talla coughed. "It was Snart's idea, sir and we were having issues getting them all together as it was. Plus, we figured the first priority would be to make sure the Krill were kept in lockdown in special quarters. I wanted to get a detail but you were distracted by the call from the Admiralty…."

"Fine, fine but the mess hall?" Ed shook his head. "You had to know something would happen!"

For once, the Legends barely got any looks as they settled into the mess hall of the Orville. Indeed, even the Guardians didn't stand out too much with the other aliens about. Snart was bringing them a large selection of drinks, which Mick wasted no time downing. Mantis and Drax sniffed at theirs while Sara was downing hers quickly. "Once more," she began. "How are you alive, Len?"

Snart leaned back in his chair. "Can't tell you too much of what happened after that Oculus blew. I figured it was it to be sure so when I woke up on some planet, I had no idea what had happened. Actually took a bit to settle in and realize I was in the future. As it turns out, no matter what time period or where you are, there's still crime so found myself making ends meet."

"How'd you join the Union?" Ray asked.

"Technically, I haven't," Snart corrected him. "I'm a bounty hunter and got assigned to this ship as part of a special job. I had no idea it would lead to you guys." He sipped his drink down. "I'm guessing things have been…hectic?"

"Ah, time travel, reality rewritten, battling a past evil version of you, creating a huge teddy bear to fight a demon…"

Snart raised an eyebrow. "Sounds….fun." He looked at the Guardians. "And who are these guys?"

"It's a bit complicated," Sara explained. "Short version, pack of guys from another universe who are sort of space heroes."

"I am Groot."

"Okay, heroes is pushing it."

"I am Groot."

"They should fit in well then," Snart noted. "The Union has some…odd types as well."

"How are they?" Zari pressed. "What kind of people?"

"Not much different than us," Snart stated. "They do have this weird obsession with late 20th century culture, watch TV and movies from that time constantly, don't ask me why."

"Ugh, getting enough trouble latching onto pop culture as is," Charlie stated. "Really don't get why you all like that Star Wars thing."

"That's because you started with Episode I!" Ray snapped.

Charlie frowned in confusion. "Why would I not start with the first movie?" Ray opened his mouth but a sharp glare from Laurel made him silence himself.

Len looked to Laurel. "So, sister from another Earth? Interesting. You wouldn't know me there, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Laurel smiled wickedly. "You're the commissioner of the Central City police department."

She timed it perfectly as Len was just sipping his drink and nearly choked on it. Mick couldn't help letting out a laugh at that. Laurel turned to smirk back at him. "Oh, don't be laughing, two-time winner of 'America's best fire chief' award." That made Mick shut up.

"Excuse me." The group look up to see Talla, Bortus and some security officers standing before them. Talla was looking as stern as she could. "Snart, we were busy dealing with all those Krill corpses you left behind but we have to insist these…friends of yours head to medical and then be handled for questioning."

"Hey, I vouch for them."

"That's really not a sterling recommendation given your occupation."

Bortus was speaking in his rumble. "We must have you examined at once. It is standard procedure."

"I think you'll find we almost never do anything standard," Sara said with a smirk as the rest of the group made nods of agreement.

Bortus stepped forward, his expression more dour. "This is not a request."

Drax stood up to glare at the other man. "No one makes me do anything I don't want to do."

"He's right," Mantis intoned. "Which is a key reason his bed smells so badly." Drax merely nodded as if vindicated.

"It was at this point," Bortus stated. "That things took a downward turn."

Talla glared at the group. "Listen, I don't want to lose my temper…"

Drax stepped forward, reaching a hand to her. "You are a child. I do not hurt children so I will simply.." He stopped as Talla grabbed his arm. She reached to clutch Drax by the cuff of his pants and then lifted him off his feet. Drax could only give out a startled yell before Talla sent him crashing face first into the floor. She then put a foot onto his back and Drax gasped as it felt as if he was being stepped on by an elephant.

The Guardians all just stared in disbelief while the Legends marveled at how this seemingly petite young woman was easily holding Drax down. Bortus also glared at the group. "You will accompany us now." He pointed to Rocket. "The animal shall be examined for possible diseases."

"Hey, I ain't dirty!" Rocket snapped at him. "And no one's putting me in a cage!"

Bortus' face was set. "It is not a cage. We are merely…"

"I am Groot!" The tree was moving forward, his face drawn in anger at Bortus, who remained impassive. "I will not be threatened by a walking plant."

"Hey!" called out a uniformed figure with a face that looked like brown bark. "That's speciest!"

"My apologies." Bortus motioned to an officer who headed to Rocket. Mick stepped in the man's path, his face set. "No one messes with my buddy!"

Zari closed her eyes. "And away we go…"

The first punch was thrown to knock the Union officer back. Bortus moved in before Gamora nailed him with a kick. It did little to stop him but Nebula fired off a punch that did. Two officers moved in only for Groot to slam them back with his branch arms.

A trio of officers raced over to help and Sara ducked past one to kick the other in the face. Laurel was about to unleash her cry but a look at the windows into space made her reconsider. She wasn't sure if the glass was shatterproof but she wasn't going to test it. She settled for snap-kicking a male officer in the face, then punched a female one down.

Talla had lifted her foot off Drax to throw a punch at Nate and too late saw his body turn to steel. It was too late to stop it and she let out a gasp as her fist met the metal. While Nate was knocked back, Talla gasped in pain as she clutched her fist. Nate managed to recover to throw out a shot of his own, realizing this woman was tougher than she looked. She proved it as a blow that should have knocked her out cold just left her rattled.

In unison, Mick and Snart were shoved back against the bar by some crewmembers. They responded with some sharp punches, Mick grabbing a bottle off the bar to smash into one man's head before punching him. Drax was back on his feet, letting out a howl as he grabbed a man and sent him flying over a couch. Chaos had broken out with Kelly trying to wade in and settle things. "Settle down, settle…"

She was cut off by Laurel punching her in face before she was tackled against a couch. Kelly was rocking back when Charlie tossed a bottle that hit her in the head to knock her down. Peter was yelling as he tackled a man and threw some punches at his face. Charlie was letting out a loud cry as she leapt off the bar to land onto a pair of officers. Rocket was also getting into this, scurrying around the area before trying to claw at some officers.

Bortus was grunting as he grabbed Nate and pulled him off of Alara. Constantine whispered as he put a hand to Bortus' face. The alien gasped din pain at the burst of light and heat. Meanwhile, LaMarr had tried to enter the fray only to be punched in the face by Quill. He was stumbling back to get kicked by Gamora, stumbling more in time to be punched again by Laurel, sending him knocked down to the floor.

The doors to the mess hall opened as a platoon of soldiers raced in to try and contain the chaos erupting inside.

Ed rubbed his temples. "Five minutes and this is what they've done. Do you understand how much trouble this can be with the Admiralty? They're still on us for the last Krill incident." He sighed. "But having a ship and crew of theirs under command can soothe things over a bit."

"What about the prisoners, sir?" Talla asked.

"Keep them under lock and key for now until they can be examined." Ed shook his head. "This is not turning into a good day. Dismissed."

Talla and Bortus nodded as they stood to head out. Kelly hung back, looking at Ed. "Are you okay?" she asked, less as his second in command and more his ex-wife. "I know it's been...rough...since...Janelle."

"Janelle never existed," Ed snapped. "It was Teleya all along. I can't mourn someone who didn't exist."

"She did for you," Kelly stated. "Don't pretend it doesn't hurt, Ed, I know you too well."

"So did she." Ed sighed. "She told me something on that moon. That I always make my work first priority over everything. And that I trust way too easily. I mean, just look at Pria."

"She's right on the latter," Kelly admitted. "But that just makes you a better commander." She leaned in. "Don't let her get to you too much, Ed. I know this Krill thing is bringing up bad memories but we need you focused."

He gave her that light smile. "I will be. I promise." He settled back in his chair. "Okay, onto business, since our brig is full now, what's the Krill status?"

"We moved them to a special side of the main cargo bay," Kelly explained. "And we're still trying to access those ships but according to Isaac, one has some special booby traps and the other is...Well, he claims it has an AI that boasts an attitude."

Ed shook his head. "Who are these lunatics?"

"Better question," Kelly stated. "Who's the poor soul we get to question them?"

Ray was lying on a bed with a hand to his head sighing out. Snart was just smirking at him. "Still haven't learned to handle a brawl, huh, Palmer?" Mick was slapping a hand on Snart's back with a grin, happy to have his friend back.

The group had been divided among several of the holding cells inside the Orville's prison bay. Each held three or four of them with Rocket and Groot sharing one of their own. "Good to see very little has changed with you guys," Snart continued.

"Oh, knock it off, Len, you're in here with us," Sara retorted from her cell with Gamora, Laurel and Nebula.

"Not for long…"

"Not another prison break story!" Sara groaned. "Please, Len, we do not miss the prison break stories!" Ray had to nod in agreement with her. He seemed a bit thrown by that as he settled back.

"Unbelievable," Gamora muttered as she leaned on the wall of her own cell. "Once again, you idiots have landed us in jail! How did this happen?"

"We don't need the instant replay," Zari snapped.

"Can we once more go over the part where Drax got body-slammed by a ninety-pound girl?" Quill grinned. "Because that never gets old for me." Drax growled at him

"So what do we do now?" Zari piped up. "Because pretty sure they're going to slam us at trying to take over the ship."

"This is ridiculous," Ray scoffed. "If we'd wanted to attack these guys, they'd be dead by now!"

Charlie pursed her lips. "Actually, given our combined track record, if we'd wanted to attack these guys, we'd be dead by now."

"Well, either way, they should know we're harmless."

Constantine sighed out. "I just wish they'd let me keep my smokes."

"We're in an enclosed cell, John," Nate pointed out.

"I still fancy that and a drink."

"I'll ring for room service."

"I shall take a sandwhich when they arrive," Drax announced.

The doors slid open as an attractive black woman in a green uniform entered with some guards. "Hello," she called out. "I'm Dr. Claire Finn." She held a padd in her hands, clicking on it. "I am attempting to figure out more of your physiologies to bring to the Captain so he can better ascertain if you're a threat or not." She looked to Peter. "Your DNA has some…unusual qualities." She held the padd up to him.

Peter had no idea what he was looking at but shrugged. "My dad wasn't human." The tone in his voice made it very clear the rest of the story was not one he intended to pursue. He looked at the various readouts on the pad before glancing at the others. "Looks like we're gonna have to correct these guys a bit."

"I am Groot."

"According to the readouts there…" Peter glanced at the pad in the scientist's hand. "You are not Groot, you are flora colossus."

"I am Groot!"

Peter looked to the pad then grinned at Rocket. "Hey, you wanna know what they call you?"

Rocket crossed his arms. "I know what they classify me as. Cybernetically, genetically-enhanced…"

"Pet rodent!"

Drax let out a long and boisterous laugh as he pointed at Rocket. Even Nebula and Gamora were laughing at that. Rocket just snarled at Finn. "Hey, I am nobody's pet!"

"I would have thought you'd be more upset at the rodent part," Quill noted.

"Ain't nothing like me but me!"

Charlie sighed as she leaned back on her cot. "You bunch just cause messes anywhere…"

"Oh, don't even!" Zari snapped. "How many messes have you caused with your shapechanging antics! If it wasn't for us, you'd have caused England to fall!"

"Some might argue that wouldn't be too bad…"

Mantis was just cross-legged on the floor of her cell, being very calm despite all the arguments while Gamora was barking at Quill. "This is all your fault!"

"I didn't throw the first punch, they did!"

"In his defense," Nate piped up. "Nasty brawls are pretty common for us."

"I remember now what I hate the most about jails," Mick stated.

"No beer?"

"No beer."

Laurel sat with her chin propped up a hand, just staring outward. "Every now and then, I think about getting hit by a truck. Not enough to kill me, you know, just put me in a coma for a week or two. Let me have some nice good long rest."

Nebula slowly nodded. "With me, it's a meteor." The tone made it clear she understood Laurel's pain all too well.

Mantis was just sitting cross-legged to take the situation in. "We are not ones to cause trouble."

"The half-ruined mess hall says otherwise," Finn pointed out.

"Again, it was not our fault!" Ray piped up.

Snart moved to the force field with his best charming smile. "Listen, Doc…"

"Mr. Snart, I'm immune to your charms, trust me."

"Doc, you hooked up with a talking blob of gelatin, that's not much in standards."

Finn glared at him as Mick chuckled once more.

"Hey, any idea when we're getting out of here?" Peter asked.

"That's up to the captain."

Rocket leaned in. "Any way we can…speed it up?"

Finn stared at him. "Are you trying to bribe me?"

"Yeah, obviously!"

"With what?"

"I got money!"

"On you?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Oh, God," Sara moaned.

"Dude, you're making it worse!" Peter snapped at Rocket, who just tried to wave him off.

"Attention," a voice came over the loudspeakers. "All senior staff please report to the briefing room at once." Finn frowned but headed to the door. Bortus was waiting for her, his own face showing a bit of improvement. "What is your assessment?" he asked as they walked on.

"Aside from how they're basically a pack of high functioning morons and borderline insane? I can't give a professional opinion."

"Indeed." As usual, Bortus failed to pick up on her obvious sarcasm. "As long as we can deal with them quickly, we should be all right."

"As long as something else doesn't happen."

"It is not as if serious events occur here on a weekly basis, Doctor." Bortus didn't seem to notice Claire's staring.

Palasis-4

Once, it had been a vibrant land. A peaceful world of thinkers and philosophers. A land of beauty many in the Union hailed as one of the more sedate places to study and relax in. Its people were intelligent, not too arrogant and often used as mediators in disputes. In short, it had been a paradise.

It was now a Hell.

The fires burned so large that from space, it appeared half the world was aflame. The lush forests were turning to ash much like the cities. The extermination had been methodical and exact with no room for error. It had taken roughly sixteen hours to complete but in that time frame, every living creature on Palasis-4 had been killed. Humanoid and animal, even most plants, none were left alive.

In the center of what had once been the planet's capital, the only movement came from the mechanical creatures roaming about. Many were like Isaac, hard robotic forms mingling about. But no one had ever seen a Kaylonian so heavily armed with a variety of cannons and a willingness to use them. Some were tossing limp bodies onto the various fires while others maintained scans to ensure nothing was left.

The highlight of the city had been a large fountain dominating the main square, marked with a huge statue. That was mostly wrecked now with the water stained in the green blood of the inhabitants. Atop the wreckage sat a figure whose metallic body differed from the rest of the robots. It was larger and yet sleeker, a dark silver shine to it. Its face was humanoid with a large gaping mouth and glowing red eyes but somehow managed to maintain a vicious edge. It held a skull in one hand, studying it carefully.

A Kaylonian moved up to him, bowing its head in a show of deference no Kaylonian had ever made in public. "Extermination complete, sir."

The figure just lifted up the skull, still examining its sloped and pointed head. "So fragile," it mused, the electronic voice laced with a sardonic tone that seemed oddly human. "That's what always amazes me. How such fragile creatures can cause so much destruction. So many messes. I thought it was just humanity that could do such things but no. It's all over the universe and it's just gotten worse over the centuries." He cocked its head. "Which is why it has to expunged."

With a whine of servos, the fist clenched and the skull shattered like a china doll. The figure rose up, allowing the dark red cape around his shoulders to flow down. He faced the robotic figures surrounding him. "A very good start, gentlemen. But it's not enough." He looked upward at the sky. "There's a lot more to do. More organics to eliminate. More order to be restored. But we'll make it happen."

He lifted a fist upward. "It's time to get cracking! It's time to make this a new age for this universe….

"The Age…of Ultron!"

Yep, everyone's favorite psychotic android is in the future. All reviews welcomed.