At 1:55, Hillary and Tate headed over to the guardian's house, bringing a two-liter sized bottle of Mountain Dew with them. Neither Jack nor Pietro had shown up, but they both knew where the two were going to be for the evening, so the pair didn't worry. They knocked on the door, and with some loud footsteps, it was answered in a matter of seconds.
"Hey guys!" Peter said. "Aw, sick! You brought 'Dew!" Tate handed it over to him.
"We can't really... Y'know, buy alcohol yet. I hope that's okay." Hillary expressed.
"Nah man! It's all good! Rocket seriously loves this stuff- he'll be glad you got it!" He waved his hand inside of the house. "C'mon! We're set up in the back." Peter guided the two to the backyard. Gamora was starting to set up the grill, wearing an apron that said "Kiss the Cook and You Get Your Arm Shot Off". Drax and Rocket seemed to be in a very intense game of "Go Fish", and Groot was playing in the sprinkler that appeared to be set up especially for them. They stopped for a moment to wave at Hillary and Tate, but continued their frolicking. Drax looked up from his game.
"Hello Terrian friends!" He bellowed heartily. He turned back to Rocket. "Do you have any fives?"
"Go fish." The raccoon said. Drax took the last card from the pile. "Got any sevens?" He set his cards down on the table, revealing his last two sevens. Rocket let his cards fly in the air. "I win! 8-0! C'mon bud, another round! I wanna see if I can get to ten!" Drax stood up and flipped over his plastic lawn chair with such force that it made a small crater in the ground when it landed.
"This is a bogus game!"
"Drax!" Peter shouted.
"Everything on Earth is so sensitive." He tried to rationalize.
"Sore loser..." Rocket said under his breath. Drax stared at him with daggers in his eyes.
"Hey girlfriend!" Gamora said, waving over Hillary. She walked to her, performing the intricate handshake they had perfected last time she came to the guardians' house. Tate went over to the section Rocket and Drax were sitting at.
"...Aren't the Earth girl and the ghost dating? Are all three of you dating? She isn't your girlfriend." Drax said, confused. Gamora rolled her eyes while Peter sat down and explained what she meant to the man. The two instantly hit off a conversation.
"How're you doing? I mean, yesterday was super insane." The green skinned woman started.
"Oh man, yeah. We're all recovering pretty well though, thanks for asking."
"It sucks that we only came in at the end of it all. Those witches, messing with my girl!" She punched Hillary in the arm. "Who would I reenact Footloose with?" Drax turned up at that, looking very hurt.
"Is Footloose the only musical you know?" She asked with curiosity.
"There's more?!" Gamora looked downright shocked.
"Oh, hon. You need to come over sometime! We'll have a big musical movie night. We've got a huge collection, since Jack's really... Into that." She trailed off at the end, sighing. The other gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
"Oh my god, I didn't- I'm so sorry for your loss."
"Wait what."
"It was yesterday, wasn't it? It was those girls!"
"What happened?!" Peter ran to Gamora.
"Jack's dead!" He had a sharp intake of breath. He embraced Hillary, stroking her hair.
"They're in a better place now." He said.
"Jack's not dead!" She responded, a little muffled by his coat. "They just ran off with the neighbor's kid this morning. That's why they're not here. It's okay! I promise they're not dead!"
"The one with the grey hair?" Gamora asked. She nodded and Peter let go from the girl awkwardly.
"Well that's a little embarrassing." He laughed uncomfortably and clapped Hillary on the shoulder. "Glad they're not dead." He started to walk back to the boys when the doorbell rang. "That must be the others!" He stated, glad for an excuse to get out of the yard for a few moments. Peter walked to the front door and opened it, greeting his guests with a smile.
"Hello Mr. Quill!" Said Charles Xaiver cheerfully.
"Please, just Peter!" He took the other's hand and shook it firmly. "Or Starlord!" Erik Lehnsherr looked at him with some form of disbelief plastered across his face. "Or Peter. Peter's cool." He said, his voice going an octave higher as he looked toward the ground.
"Pleased to see you again, Peter." Erik held out his hand and he shook it in the same manner. The Polish one handed over a bottle of an expensive looking red wine. He inspected it for a few moments.
"Cool! Well, come on in, guys! We're all in the backyard." He led the two in, setting the wine next to the bottle of Mountain Dew. Charles and Erik exchanged slightly confused looks to each other, but kept walking alongside Quill. They made their way out to the back, where they were all greeted by the six. Hillary excused herself from Gamora and went over to the two.
"Good to see you two again!" She said.
"You as well." Erik said politely.
"I hate to be upfront," She started. "But have you seen Pietro or Jack at all today?"
"Pietro left a note sometime this morning, said he was over at your house and meet up with us here?" Charles questioned.
"He left with Jack at around eight this morning."
"Odd. I don't want to be too worried, though. He may not be the most responsible boy, but I'm sure Jack will keep him in line until they show up again." Erik tried to console. Hillary and Charles both sighed in unison, both trying to have some faith that their missing components would show up. They went on their separate ways- Hillary went back to talking with Gamora about all sorts of musicals they had back at the house. Erik and Charles joined Peter, Rocket, Drax and Tate. Groot joined them soon after, and the telepath got into a riveting conversation with the raccoon and plant being. The metal manipulator continued to make small talk with the remaining guardians and the ghost. Eventually, when Gamora got the grill up and running, the two moved to the lawn chairs and joined the others in a lively conversation.
The day went overall smoothly. After a few beers, Erik tried to beat Groot in a boxing match, which ended with the man rolling on the ground after getting a splinter and threatening mutant superiority, whatever that meant. Things settled down after that. Gamora was about to light up the grill, but everything halted to a stop when the nine noticed the sun get blotted out for a few seconds, but come back. It was as if they had just witnessed a miniature eclipse. They all looked to the sky incase of a further event.
"What even was that?" Rocket questioned.
"How would we know, man?" Peter responded.
"I'm not feeling too good about this." Tate added, visibly shifting closer to Hillary. She and Charles turned to each other, wondering if they were thinking the same thing. The telepath didn't have to wonder for too long as he read the girl's mind and confirmed that yes, in fact, they were thinking the same thing.
"I think we might have an idea about it." She voiced. The gang all turned to her and the man, waiting for the plan. Before either of the two could get out a word, however, the object that had blocked out the sun did it again, this time seeming to hover for a few moments. In another second, the opening to Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant" song pierced everyone's ears. It continued to play as a swirling cloud of black dust began to form in the center of the gang. They moved away from it as it grew in size, enveloping the middle, throwing lawn chairs away from it. It ripped and roared for a few more seconds until subsiding. The dust began to clear away, getting pulled from itself in opposite directions. In the heart of the cloud stood a tall man. He wore green and gold, what looked like regal wears, as if those of a prince. At the same time, however, they looked completely out of this world. Atop his head, covering some of his black hair, he wore a golden helmet, with curved horns protruding from them. A staff in one hand and a wicked smile across his face, he stood and looked at the nine, most of them looking in shock or fear or a bit of both. His cutting blue eyes moved across the crowd, taking each one of them in.
Suddenly, an object dropped down from the sky, landing on it's feet with a fist in the ground. It stood up. They wore a black, silver and blue uniform. The boots came up to a little below the knee, standard military grade and black, lacing up the whole way. However, one lace was blue, the other silver. It looked like almost a juvenile addition that could've been made by the wearer themselves. The pants seemed to be made of leather, with interweaving belts attached to them and knee pads built in. The shirt they wore made an "X" out of the silver and blue, stretching across their chest. There were no sleeves on the shirt, but the figure was wearing gloves that stopped at the knuckle but went up to the middle of the bicep, completely black save for the grey stitching that swirled up the arm. They wore a pair of goggles, and the silver hair was a dead giveaway of who was beside this otherworldly prince. Then, with a great gust of wind, another figure dropped down. They had a great pair of ethereal wings that retracted back into their outfit, which was the same as the other's, except with red instead of blue. They also wore a mask that covered their face and nose and wraparound shades. They landed gracefully, standing on the left side of the man.
"Greetings, Midgardians." Boomed the man in green "I am Loki of Jötunn. I come with my newest accomplices. They have vowed to serve me well in my escapades, and have proven to be fine soldiers in my army. First," Loki circled around the one on his right and clapped him on the back. "Pietro, son of Maximoff! Skilled in agility, hand-to-hand combat, and music taste!" He pressed a panel on on of his belts and "Immigrants" faded out.
"Thanks man."
"It is no trouble, my broski." Loki held out his hand in a fist and Pietro bumped it. The silver haired boy smiled in approval. "Second!" He circled back to the other figure, placing his hand on their shoulder and giving them a small shake. "Adept in ariel warfare, the youngest, yet one of the most skilled of our squadron, Jaques, child of the Nebula!" His voice echoed off the house, but the presentation was almost anticlimactic. They pulled off the facial guard and sunglasses, turning to the man.
"First off, it's Jack."
"But Jaques is so much cooler!" Loki stomped his foot.
"I didn't choose my name!" Jack laughed at the irony that they did, in fact, choose their name. "Secondly, just because I told you everything in the universe is made of dying stars doesn't mean I'm literally born out of one. I have, y'know, actual parents."
"Jaques of the Nebula is one of the coolest names I've ever had the chance to say. I introduce people and you get something like 'John, child of Debra' or some bullshit like that. Just let me have this moment. Please." Jack was going to open their mouth to protest but Loki waved his staff menacingly.
"I hate to interrupt," Hillary started. "But what the fuck is going on?"
"Same to you, Pietro. What happened?!" Charles added. Tate and Erik went to their respected places along side their other.
"Please, Jaques, Pietro, tell them the story of triumph!" Loki looked to them proudly as if they were his own children. Jack turned to the other and shrugged their shoulders a little timidly.
"Well, uh... Alright, a lot happened, first off." Jack began. "So, Pietro and I ran over to New Mexico because he knew this great breakfast place there, which was totally awesome, might I add. Seriously, they make the best pancakes there." The two exchanged a high five. "But New Mexico's pretty scenic and stuff, but where we're at- it's just a really small town. There's, like, no one. But at this breakfast place, there are these girls talking about astronomy and science and stuff and how they gotta go fix this inter-dimensional portal thing? Well, Pietro and I are like, 'Hell yeah, we oughta go check this out', because who doesn't want to go see an inter-dimensional portal thing, y'know? So, we kinda sneak around, witness the fixing of the thingy, and they start revving it up and stuff, so Pietro gets the idea to go into this portal and see what's up. I mean, what could go wrong, right?"
"Right!" Pietro added.
"Thanks Pietro. Anyway, so when the thing is ready, I jump onto his back and we zoom into this portal. I mean, we figure if things turn to shit, we can just speed back. So we get there where we land in Asgard!" Jack added a flourish of their hands to emphasize their point. Pietro added some sound effects. "But, we aren't exactly... Welcome, lets say. I mean, if two weird kids appeared through some portal at your house, you'd be pretty freaked out too, right? So, to keep things short, these guards take us to Odin, and Odin's all like 'Put them in the brig!' and we're like 'Nooooo' but we get taken to this Asgardian jail thing anyway. But, across from our cell, because we're sharing a cell, budget cuts or something, is this guy." Jack pointed to Loki. "So we strike up a bit of a conversation, and he's all like 'Hey, you wanna be a part of my army', and we've got nothing better to do. I mean, we're in Asgardian jail- not much else is going for us right now. So, we're like, 'Yeah sure, cool', and he's all like, 'Great. First assignment, break out of the prison with me', and we're like 'Uh'. Pietro starts throwing himself against the glass thing, and I try to use my wit and charm to entice a guard to let us out, but none of that works. But Thor, who's Loki's brother-" Loki went boneless on the ground and started screaming. "-Ex-brother...?" Loki immediately popped back up and continued listening to the story. "Uh... Thor is all like 'Hey Loki, if you're not gonna be a dick I'll let you out', and Loki is all like, 'Yeah sure whatever'. So Thor, being Thor, lets Loki out of the cell. He then uses his magical abilities and stuff and opens up our cell, and he says all badass to Thor, 'They're coming with us' and Thor's like 'What about Dad' but Loki straight up knocks Thor out with his scepter, which was badass as hell. Also, I should probably mention that Asgardian time is a lot faster than Earth time. Like, we spent a week in that jail. But that's also why Loki is like, hella old but looks in his thirties. Honestly, I'm probably, like, twenty on Asgard, which is so insane, like, woah, I can drive in Asgard." Loki prodded Jack with the scepter, motioning for them to continue with the story. "Sorry. Anyway, us three walk out of there like nobodies business all badass and stuff, but Pietro and I are both like, 'What the heck are we gonna do now', and Loki is like, 'We're gonna make an army!' So we spend the next Asgardian year going around the galaxy and recruiting people and destroying planets and training and it's pretty rad. It's also how I got these sick wings." Jack spread them out to make their point. "Some dude on Råshiknöch spent his whole life or something making them, some Icarus and Daedalus kind of thing. Anyway, after we recruited everyone we needed to from that planet, Pietro stole them for me to celebrate our first Asgard year anniversary and they've just been baller to use." They retracted them back. "But yeah. Spent the next four years training, and now we're gonna take over Earth I guess. Just wanted to drop by and say hi though." Jack made a 'Phew!' sound and turned to Pietro. "Am I missing anything?"
"Nah. I'm just kind of shocked at how slow thing are here. Like, man, I'm still on Asgard time, y'know?"
"Dude, I know! Like, I feel like I should be asleep right now. It's been five years on a completely separate planet, and here it's still the day we left." The two spent a few moments making 'mind-blown' hand motions as Loki turned back to the group.
"This is what I've gotten to deal with for five years."
"Try seventeen." Charles responded, crossing his arms. He turned to Pietro. "I don't care if you're one of the most skilled mercenaries in the universe, Mister. You're grounded for the next two months. Now you can go take that silly costume off, march straight home, and think about what you've done." Pietro gasped.
"I didn't even do anything!"
"Uh, yes, you did, as Jack so articulately put it!"
"You can't control me! I'm, like, twenty-two now!"
"You may be twenty-two on Asgard, but you're still living under our roof and entering your last year of high school in August. Now back to the house!"
"No!" Pietro and Charles continued to argue with each other. Hillary and Tate turned to Jack, who put their head down and faced the ground.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Hillary asked. Jack mumbled something towards the direction of the lawn. "Speak up."
"I said that you guys are buttholes and I'm sticking with Loki!" They moved a little closer to him and he draped his arm over their other shoulder, flashing a smile to the opposite two.
"Why do you even want to be on his side?! He's going to destroy Earth, you know that, right?"
"I don't care! I've got a rad life on Asgard! I'm a leader! People fear me! Can you even grasp how cool that is?"
"No, because I'm a normal human being and don't want people to be afraid of me, Jack!"
"Oh, 'normal human being', says the girl who's dating a psychopathic dead boy."
"Low blow." Hillary and Jack argued further. Loki admired the chaos around him. However, the guardians weren't going to let two families unravel in their backyard. Peter cleared his throat, but that alone wasn't loud enough to get everyone's attention. He cleared it a little louder- still no avail. By the third time, Drax decided to take matters into his own hands. He bellowed a shout that sent a chill through everyone. Peter stepped forward.
"Thank you, Drax." He shivered a bit. "I think I've got a way to solve everyone's problems."
"Why would we want that?" Loki asked.
"Because... It's a competition. You like competitions, right?" The other man nodded. "Cool, cool. We're going to settle this with a dance battle. You, Jack, and Pietro against me, Drax, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, Hillary and Tate."
"That seems uneven-" Jack started, but Loki silenced them.
"And what do we get if we win?" He questioned.
"If you win," Peter began. "You get to do whatever you were planning to do with Earth." Gamora gave him a whack on the arm, to which he quickly continued. "But! If we win, we get to get Jack and Pietro back, continue our barbecue in peace, and you never come to Earth again." Loki chuckled.
"Seems like a fair deal. I'd like to see you all try to beat the best dancers in Asgard!" He put his scepter underneath Peter's chin. The crowd gasped, but he stopped them with a wave of his hand. "Little do you know, I recruit based off of two abilities- skill in combat, and skill in dance. These two are the best in both. Good luck, Mr. Quill."
"Same to you, Satan-Leprechaun." Despite the insult, Loki snickered. He took out his object from the other's chin and set his scepter down. The three turned around, and with a snap of the man's fingers, the twelve were transported to a large alley. There were slabs of cardboard underneath the three dancers and they all wore matching sweatpants and hoodies. Rap music began to blast from some unknown source. The three turned around as Loki began rapping at the speed of light while Pietro and Jack began to breakdance on the cardboard. They did hand glides, floor rockers, moon walks, back spins, spider crawls, all in complete synchronization with the other. When Loki stopped, he got down on the ground and began to breakdance along side Jack while Pietro busted some tight rhythm and rhymes. When Pietro stopped, Jack took up the rap, until all three got up and rapped in harmony with each other. The dance and song ended with the three side to side with each other, arms crossed and hoods up. The nine couldn't help but applaud, but then immediately grouped up together in a circle.
"Shit, they were really good." Peter breathed.
"How the hell are we gonna top that?!" Rocket whispered angrily.
"I know how." Tate said. They all turned to face him. "Theoretically, can take down this nerd if you all use our combined power." All the others were confused..
"What exactly is the plan?" Erik asked timidly. Tate looked over to him.
"Did you ever see the movie 'Footloose'?" Hillary gripped onto her boyfriend's shoulder.
"Babe, are you sure?" He nodded.
"It's time I stepped up, hon. I need to protect my family."
After a few more moments of talk amongst the nine, they got up out of their circle. Tate stepped in front of the crowd, facing Loki.
"Alright, mister. Two can play at this game. We're gonna end this once and for all. Don't forget our deal."
"Dear, dear, Tate, I may be a trickster, but I always honor my agreements."
"Good. That makes both of our jobs a heck of a lot easier." Tate snapped his fingers, and the setting instantly changed once again. He turned to face his group with a look of awe on his face. The boys wore different variations of tee-shirts with rolled up sleeves, torn jeans rolled to the ankle, and converse high tops. They had their hair slicked back with grease- Drax, Peter, Charles and Erik each had a cigarette behind their ear. The girls had on poodle skirts and denim tops, hair in up-dos and strapped black one-inch heels on their feet. They all looked to Tate for further direction. He grinned with a smile that lit up the whole room. "Hey, hey! What's this I see? I thought this was a party! Let's dance!" He shouted, quoting Kevin Bacon. The title song of the musical began to start up as the nine revved up to begin their boogie. They grapevined, angle stepped, heel split, slapped their leather, toe touched, and sang. They sang with all their heart. During the paired part of the dance, Hillary danced with Tate, Gamora danced with Peter, Charles with Erik, and Groot with Rocket, while Drax bust out an incredible solo on a tenor saxophone. They swung and tapped and danced until their feet hurt, but they continued to dance. And with each move, Loki was visibly growing weaker. He crumpled into himself, disintegrating into shards of light. He collapsed on his knees and screamed as he exploded into dust, literally being blown away by the performance. The dance ended with a pelvic thrust strong enough to completely destroy Loki with a flourish. They cheered as the scene went back to the guardian's backyard, grill still firing up, lawn chairs back in place, and everyone back in the clothes they were wearing before the dance battle.
"Shit." Uttered Pietro, not so much as a remorse, but more in shock.
"Yeah." Jack agreed. Not that the two would miss Loki much, but they had spent the last five Asgardian years with him- it had made some impression on them. The two turned up from the spot where their leader once stood.
"Now what?" The boy asked. The other simply shrugged.
"Pretend like the last five years didn't happen?" They suggested.
"No," Jutted in Tate. The group all turned to him, surprised to hear him speak. "I've spent a lot of my life pretending a lot of stuff didn't happen. Hell, I've spent a lot of my death doing that too. But all those experiences shape us. They add to us. As humans, we're like... Presents. You gotta unwrap the gift, get it out of the box, tear away the extra packaging and tape and whatever, and then do you finally get to what was inside. And maybe it's a lot different that what the box advertised, but it's still us. And that's just wonderful." He turned to Jack. "Y'know, Jack, things have been rough. This crazy genocidal ghost boy is suddenly dating your best friend. What now? But you made it work. And Hillary," He looked over to his girlfriend, who returned his gaze. He took her hands into his. "I hope that I can be the boyfriend you'd be proud to have. I don't want to forget my past, but I want to grow from it. But most of all, I want to grow with you." Her lib quibbled as she began to wipe at her eye.
"You fricking nerd." She said, embracing him in a hug. "You get over here too, meme." She said to Jack. They ran over and added to the cuddle-puddle. Peter joined in too, then Gamora, Rocket, Drax, Charles, and Erik. Charles waved Pietro over, who entered into the hug fest as well. Erik gave him a fatherly clap on the back as the eleven shared a great embrace.
"You know, son, I... Well, when I was young, I too, wanted to make a band of mutants. The Brotherhood is what we would've been called. I wanted to rebel and-" Erik started, but Pietro stopped him.
"Kinda killing the mood here, bud." He said, quoting Jack and winking at them. They rolled their eyes to him, and Erik stayed silent. In the midst of enjoying their embrace, they then suddenly felt themselves all get picked up by Groot, who delivered the most grand hug anyone could ask for.
Despite everything that had happened to the twelve, the hope for change in the future still remained, as it always had. They all knew they would most likely face more trials and tribulations to come- that was sort of the bargain when you were put in an abnormal situation. But they would face it together, and together, they knew they could do anything.