A/N: Sooooooooo, I thought about if they were all teenagers in real life, which actors would portray them. To be honest, I couldn't really come up with any for Drax, Rocket and Groot are both CGI anyways so they're good, Shuri and Little Peter are already considered 'teens'. So I came up with Megan Nicole as Gamora (yes, I know she has kind of a higher-pitched voice than Zoe does, but I still think she'd make a really cute Gamora), Madilyn Bailey as Nat, and imagine Nat Wolff WITH STRAWBERRY BLONDE HAIR, as Peter?! Idk, it was just an idea! XDD Anyways enjoy and please like and review! 3
They run. They leave Homecoming and run. They had managed to wake Drax from his unconscious state, but Gamora was still in a state of shock before they left, causing Peter to pull her to her feet and hold her upright as they ran.
Peter digs around in the pocket of his pants for the keys to the performing arts building. Once he finds them, he unlocks the front door, immediately guiding the group to the choir room.
After everyone is safely inside, Peter locks the doors and turns on the lights. Luckily, the only windows in the room are attached to the doors.
Nat and Shuri guide Gamora to one of the chairs, Peter's maroon, leather jacket loosely covering her bare shoulders. Her arms are still wrapped around her abdomen, trembling slightly.
"Gamora, what is going on?" Nat asks in a tone in what seems like she had asked for the hundredth time.
"It's my sister-she's insane." Instead of looking at the girl in crouched in front of her, her gaze is towards the dirty floor.
"Gamora, you told me Thanos-"
"She's adopted." She snaps, immediately regretting it and finally giving Nat an apologetic look. Her eyes rip away from Nat's and shift back to the floor. "I'm not the only one Thanos took from their homeworld."
Shuri crouches down besides Nat, resting an assuring hand on Gamora's bare knee. "Your sister-what does she plan to do?"
"I don't know exactly what she's up to, but I know she's after this orb. I was on a mission to find it before I crashed here. She thought I had it-" Gamora takes a deep breath before standing up and walking towards the piano. "If it's anything like I think it is, we might be in trouble."
"Then, we need to stop her." Peter chimes in, slowly approaching her.
"It's not just her we need to stop-she joined Ronan."
"Wait, who's Ronan?" Peter asks with a raised brow, the rest of the group watching their conversation intently.
"A Kree fanatic who works for Thanos."
The mention of the name sends chills down Peter's spine. Gamora has told him of the pain Thanos inflicted, not only on her, but millions of innocent people around the universe. She has told him what he's capable of and his one and only goal: to eradicate half the universe.
"Ronan may have killed my lover, Hovat, and my younger sister, Kamaria, but Thanos is by far the strongest being in the universe. I will accompany you on your quest to find this orb. Then, I will kill Ronan and avenge my family's deaths." Drax was very silent until that moment. He crosses the room to join Peter and Gamora near the piano.
"What exactly is this orb?" Peter asks, completely brushing off Drax's entire speech. "From what it sounds, it seems like some kind of weapon."
"I don't know what it is."
"If it's a weapon, we should use it against Ronan."
Gamora's head whips around to Drax. "You fool! You'll destroy us all!" Maybe snapping from a comment as small as that wasn't her best move, but it was too late.
"Or just you, MURDERESS!" Drax steps closer, pissing Gamora off even more so.
"I LET YOU LIVE ONCE, PRINCESS!" Gamora finds herself looking straight up at him, baring her teeth.
"I AM NOT A PRINCESS!" The tattooed boy stands up straighter, glaring at the smaller girl in front of him.
"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! Nobody is killing ANYBODY in my CHOIR ROOM!" Peter puts himself between them as they continue to glare at one another.
"It ain't your choir room, dumbass." It's that stupid raccoon and giving tree whom always manages to find themselves in the same room as him.
Peter rolls his eyes and turns his head to said duo. "Can we help you? What are you even doing here?" The raccoon doesn't reply, giving Peter a vexing smirk instead. "Let me guess? Profit?"
"Oh, hell yeah!" Rocket crawls off Groot's shoulder and scales up the piano to gain the attention of the others. "I know someone who's very trustworthy and is willing to pay a whole lotta units for that orb."
"How much?" Peter asks in curiosity, oblivious to Gamora's annoyed eye roll.
"Four. Billion. Units." The emphasis on the three words captures Peter's attention as his eyes widen.
"Holy shit!"
"Yup! About a hundred thousand times the amount of Yondu's bounty on you. Groot and I were gonna go after it, but when we heard Greenie over here mumbling somethin' about the orb, we thought we could use a few extra humies."
"And what makes you think we'll help you?" It's the first time Gamora speaks up since Rocket started talking.
"Cause', I have a big gun that could disable your mods and kill you in an instant."
"I am Groot."
"Shut up, Groot."
"I. Am. Groot." The tree says with more force.
After a few moments, Rocket crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. "Fine. Groot says we'll split the profit between everyone who gives us a hand."
"If I gave you my hand, it would require me to sever it off, disabling the ability to be helpful with it still attached." Everyone's jaws drop at the amount of stupidity they had just heard.
"It's an expression, dipshit." Rocket explains with another eye roll.
"I will never understand Terran sayings."
"It's not exclusively from Terra. People say it all the time."
"We're getting off track!" Gamora interrupts, watching as Drax and Rocket exchange a look and shrug their shoulders in unison.
"Are you in or not?"
Gamora's brown eyes find Peter's. He looks at her with the same grave expression, subtly nodding at her. There's that look in his eyes. The same look he had when she came out of the dressing room at Forever 21 in the outfit he picked out for her. The same look he had when he noticed she was finally able to start reading paragraphs on her own. The same look he had when she finally joined in on the choir ritual. The same look he had when he finally had the guts to ask her to homecoming. The same damn look he had when he kissed her. That genuine, caring look in his hazel eyes that she trusts more than anything in the universe. There's nothing selfish in them either, meaning he has a ethical reason behind agreeing, and he would explain later. She knows him and she trusts him.
With that, she turns to Rocket and sighs. "Yes, but if you do not undertake your part, I will be sure to skin you alive, Rodent. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Greenie, I do."
"If you guys are really considering this, you better make sure this buyer is trustworthy. If something happens that this 'orb' is a weapon and it's in the wrong hands, who knows what could go wrong." Nat states, putting a hand on Gamora's shoulder. The green girl nods in unison with Peter.
"How do we get off this dumb planet without confronting the director?"
"Well, Big Guy! I have a plan-"
Although Nat is training to be a spy for S.H.I.E.L.D., she has very awful plans, which is why Gamora, Drax, Peter, Rocket, and Groot are fully equipped to leave Earth and are on their way to headquarters. The entire building is built underground as a bunker at the edge of the city. The only section visible is a small dome-shaped structure made entirely of one-way glass, and the secret hangar roof behind it. Two men in S.H.I.E.L.D uniforms, guard the steel double doors to the structure.
It was a long drive from their dorms to headquarters-approximately four hours to be exact. So, yeah. It was a long drive. Not to mention being in a small Volkswagen van with seven people, three of which were not as friendly as the others (well, the tree's okay). It's a miracle to get out when they arrive.
Nat's plan was simple: she and Gamora will gang up on the guards and knock them unconscious. Then, they would all sneak into the docking bay and board Peter's ship.
Therefore, they put the plan into effect. Within seconds upon reaching the small structure, Gamora and Nat sneak up behind the guards and kick them square in the back of their heads, watching as their bodies fall limp to the ground.
Peter flinches a little as their bodies hit the pavement. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt." He whispers as Nat grabs a key card from one of the guard's pockets and unlocks the door, following the group inside.
They all scuttle into a confined elevator, uncomfortably close to one another as they ride down to the docking bay. As they exit, they are spotted by two more S.H.I.E.L.D agents, who immediately get swept off their feet, due to Gamora's quick reflexes.
"What does your ship look like?" Shuri asks as they spread out, scanning each of the unique aircraft.
"It's the Milano-the blue and orange M-ship."
"The Milano?" Nat asks with a raised eyebrow. "Like the cookies?"
"No, Alyssa Milano, duh!" Nat pinches the bridge of her nose.
Gamora crosses her arms and glares at Peter. "So, who's this 'Marissa Milano'?" She asks skeptically. Of course, it wasn't out of jealousy. Gamora wasn't the type to be 'jealous'.
The boy gives her a small smirk, notching the hint of jealousy in her brown eyes. "Alyssa Milano." He corrects.
"Whatever."
"She's an actress. I had a huge crush on her when I was a kid."
"You're still a kid." She points out, glaring at him more intensely.
"No reason to be jealous."
"I'm not jealous."
"Okay."
"Can you makeout later, Lovebirds? We found your ship." Rocket announces, rolling his eyes.
"This is your ship?" Peter nods his head proudly. "No offense, but it looks like a piece of shit."
"Wow. Thanks Nat." Just then the alarms start blaring, meaning that somebody spotted them. "Hurry! Get on the ship!" Peter yells over the alarms as he lowers the ramp. Groot, Rocket, and Drax quickly obey, the original four staying behind for a moment longer.
"Go." Shuri says, gesturing to the ship with her head. "We will stay behind and cover you."
"Thank you." Gamora wraps her arms around their necks as Peter makes his way up the ramp, not completely entering the ship until Gamora follows him. The ramp closes behind them as Nat and Shuri start running for the exit.
They arrive at the temple on Morag, only to find out that Ronan's right hand beats them there. Luckily, it seems as if they haven't exited their ship yet.
Gamora whips her head around to the group. "Korath is here."
"Lemme guess? Ronan's henchman?" Rocket asks, crossing his arms.
"You could say that."
Peter eyes Gamora again as if they read each other's minds. "Okay." He says, staring her in the eyes a moment longer before focusing on the rest of the group. "Here's the plan: Gamora and I will break into the temple and steal the orb. Drax, you'll follow and cover us. Rocket. Groot. You two will stay here, protect the ship, and get ready to take off as soon as we get back. Got it?" Everyone nods. "Good. Let's go!"
It's eerily easy to obtain it, only requiring the use of a gravity mine. However, there's never any sign of Korath or his Sakaaran soldiers. That's what puts Gamora on edge. "Peter, something isn't right." She states, reaching for her Godslayer.
"Okay, well, let's go!" He begins to walk out of the temple bumping into a Sakaaran soldier. "Oh, shit."
"Drop it!" A deep voice booms as a man, who looks partially like an android, enters.
"He will do no such thing, Korath!" Gamora spits through her teeth, extracting her sword and charging towards the man with a loud war cry. Drax follows suit with his daggers. "DRAX! PETER! GET TO THE SHIP!" Drax jabs one of his daggers into one last soldier and obeys almost immediately. "PETER!"
"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU!" Peter shoots another Sakaaran that had entered the temple.
"GO, PETER!"
Peter hesitates. "Shit." He mutters under his breath, shooting one last soldier before bolting to the ship. With one last cry, Gamora drives her sword into Korath's abdomen, immediately following Peter. The boy pulls out another gravity mine, throwing it at the Sakaaran soldiers running after them. Gamora ducks and rolls her eyes as Peter yells back an apology. As soon as they have boarded the ship, Rocket turns on the thrusters and flies them to safety.
After the coast is clear, Peter meets Gamora on the lower deck. She watches as he places a small box into a weird contraption built into the Milano.
"What is that?" Gamora asks in curiosity with pursed lips.
"It's called a cassette. It plays music, see?" Peter presses a button and turns a dial as music begins to fill the ship. A huge grin creeps onto his face once he notices the corners of the green girl's lips twitching up. It only grows when she begins to subconsciously bob her head to the beat.
"What?"
It doesn't take long before Peter realizes he's staring. "Nothing." He scratches the back of his neck. "Um...just-do you trust them?"
"The only one I trust in this ship, is you."
Peter glances up at the stairs leading to the cockpit before focusing back on Gamora. "How much you wanna bet they'll ditch us after we receive the payment?" He asks almost inaudibly.
"As long as they don't give us a reason to be suspicious, we shouldn't worry too much about it."
"So, we're partners then?" Peter closes the distance between them.
Gamora crosses her arms and stares up at him. "We had an agreement, but I would never be partners."
"Does that include me?"
The green girl leans in as if to kiss him. She pauses, lips only millimeters away from his. "Especially you, Peter Quill."
He feels her breath against his lips and opens his eyes to see that she had snuck away before they could kiss. A slight chuckle escapes from him as he turns around to see her walking up the stairs with an extra sway to her hips. "Oh, it's on."
Knowhere is practically a place for outlaws, or so Gamora says. It's a grungy place and highly polluted. The streets are packed with aliens of all species, most of them looking homeless, mean, and dirty. They pass a building with a colorfully lit-up sign as a bouncer throws a patron out.
"The buyer's in there?" Peter asks staring as the patron slowly gets up.
"He told me we have to wait for his representative or whatever." Rocket explains as they continue walking.
"This is no respectable establishment. What do you expect us to do while we wait?" Drax asks with a hint of a pout.
"The museum is inside of a bar." Rocket states, stopping in his tracks and turning towards the group.
"There's no way they're going to allow us to drink. We're underage."
The raccoon bats a paw at her. "Psh! They don't care as long as they get units." He starts walking back to the bar with Groot following closely behind.
Drax shrugs and follows suit, leaving Gamora and Peter alone. "I'm gonna fill up the Milano. You coming?"
A sigh escapes the Zen-Whoberian's mouth. "I would, but I still don't completely trust those three. I'll keep an eye on them and meet you inside." Peter nods and plants a quick kiss to her temple before walking back in the direction of the Milano.
It's barely half an hour when Peter returns to the bar, finding her out on the balcony as she cleans her sword. He walks out casually and stands next to her. "Man, you wouldn't believe what they charge for fuel out here. I might actually lose money on this job."
"Doesn't surprise me." Gamora says dryly. "They're making us wait." She sheathes her sword and turns towards Peter with a perturbed expression. "Why did we agree to this, Peter?"
"You wanna escape from Thanos. I wanna escape from Yondu. We're gonna want to leave the academy eventually." He takes a deep breath and sets his forearms on the top of the balcony railing, leaning against it. "I also thought maybe we could leave together." He mutters it under his breath, hoping Gamora would hear it as much as he didn't want her to. He stares out into the void and snaps out of his thoughts as a green hand is gently placed on top of his. Turning his head slowly, he realizes that Gamora is gazing at him with a soft smile upon her lips.
"I-" She was cut off by the sound of a rousing bar fight, involving Rocket, Groot and Drax.
"Oh no." Peter moans, walking past Gamora and entering the bar. She follows suit, noticing Drax being strangled by Groot.
The muscular teen rips himself free of Groot's vines as Rocket powers up his gun. Before he can go after Groot again, Gamora pulls him up by his arm. "STOP IT!"
However, it doesn't stop Rocket from aiming his weapon at Drax. Peter steps in with a defensive hand, blocking his view. "WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"THIS VERMIN SPEAKS OF AFFAIRS HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT!" Drax yells trying to push out of Gamora's grasp to get to Rocket.
"THAT IS TRUE!"
"HE HAS NO RESPECT!"
"THAT IS ALSO TRUE!"
"HOLD ON! HOLD ON!" Peter steps closer to Rocket as he starts to aim his gun again.
"KEEP CALLING ME VERMIN, TOUGH GUY! YOU JUST WANNA LAUGH AT ME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!"
"Rocket, you're drunk, alright? Nobody's laughing at you." The Terran does his best to calm the raccoon down, but the small creature continues.
"HE THINKS I'M SOME STUPID THING! HE DOES! WELL, I DIDN'T ASK TO GET MADE! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE TORN APART, AND PUT BACK TOGETHER, OVER AND OVER AND TURNED INTO SOME...some little monster-"
"Rocket, no one's callin' you a monster."
"HE CALLED ME VERMIN! SHE CALLED ME RODENT!" He screams, pointing to Drax and Gamora respectively. "Let's see if you can laugh after five or six good shots to your FRICKIN' FACE!" Rocket starts firing up his weapon again, causing Drax to try to go after him again.
"NO, NO, NO, NO! FOUR BILLION UNITS! ROCKET! Come on, man. Hey! Suck it up for one more lousy night and you're rich."
The raccoon hesitates for a moment, finally lowering his weapon with a sigh. "Fine." He says with a slight crack in his voice. "But I can't promise when all this is over I'm not gonna kill every last one of you jerks."
Peter rubs his temple until he hears the last part of the sentence and throws an accusing hand in his direction. "SEE! THAT'S EXACTLY WHY YOU THREE DON'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS!" He looks around at the other two, finally giving Gamora a sympathetic glance. "Five seconds after you meet somebody, you're already trying to kill them!"
"We have traveled halfway across the quadrant, and Ronan is no closer to being dead." Gamora pushes him away as he pulls out of her grasp.
"Drax!" Peter calls, watching as the musclebound teen walks away in anger.
"Let him go." Gamora says, placing a gentle hand on his arm, not taking her eyes off of the direction in which Drax was headed. "We don't need him."
"The beings they call Rocket and Groot," A pink Krylorian calls from a doorway near them. "I'm here to fetch you for my master!"
