A Tiny Plant

Suddenly, he heard a quiet sound reminiscent of a scurrying insect. His ears turned towards the source. His voice became silent and the tears stopped. He had the feeling that something was in the cage with him.

It came from above, from the opposite corner of the cell. On top of the green barrel that stood on the shelf, there was a creature. Rocket remembered that he had seen a little brown object when he was in the tub, a few days ago. Back on the bed, he couldn't see it from his low viewpoint, but now there was a bigger thing and it moved.

He remembered that the nurse had poured stuff on it. He figured the container was open from above and something was in it. Something that came out now?


There is something that Rocket couldn't have known.

When he was brought to the research facility after his visit to the treacherous tailor, he was carrying his new suit. With all his belongings in its pockets.

The nurse had emptied the pockets of the suit, to make sure that nothing would interfere with the test. She found keys, a pass, a gun and a piece of wood. She was about to put the items into a locker. That was standard procedure: the belongings of the test subjects were stored in lockers. After a certain period, the paraphernalia were destroyed if they had no use.

At first, she thought the piece of wood was just a useless object. But at closer inspection, it looked like a humanoid figure. It almost seemed to have a face, arms and legs.

Not knowing what to do with it, she showed it to the doctor, who had newly arrived and was preparing for Rocket's implant surgery. The question of the perfectionist nurse annoyed him a bit, but he was in a cheerful mood and not yet accustomed to the serious attitude of his new co-workers. He took the piece of wood in his hands and suggested, "That's a nice sprout you got there. Put it in a pot and look what comes out."

He had meant it as a joke. For all he cared, she could throw the stick away. However, the lady was completely devoid of any sense of humour and followed all orders to the letter. So she improvised a flower pot, got some earth, put the seedling in and put in on a shelf in 89P13's cell. A suitable place, she figured, because that spot of the building caught a lot of sunlight. She gave it nutrients and water every day. To her, it was just another nameless patient to take care of.

Rocket had seen her being busy with the container on the shelf but thought it was irrelevant.


So there he was lying in his bed, looking at the moving thing and feeling scared because he had absolutely no idea what it was and why it had been put there.

His night vision enabled him to see it pretty sharply. It resembled a little humanoid figure. It had two beady eyes, a kind of crown on the head and tiny arms.

It stepped through the container, climbed over the rim and now was on the shelf. It had feet and could walk. Not a bug like Rocket had ever seen. It even had a kind of humanoid mouth, just discernable from that distance.

At first, the experienced space traveller was nervous about the bug. He had encountered some nasty insects in this galaxy. Lying defenceless on the bed made him feel uneasy. Then he was surprised about the strange thing that hopped out of the pot.

It jumped off the shelf, onto the ground, walked with tiny paces towards his bed, climbed on his mattress and studied his face.

The creature was about 25 cm tall. A bit larger than it seemed at first. It had a friendly face and smiled at him.

Rocket started to snicker. The creature's smile deepened in response. The snicker became a laugh and finally he threw his head back into his pillow, chortling.

The figure looked at him as friendly as before, although the behaviour of this large, troubled mammal puzzled him.

Rocket paused, turned around, looked at him again and then recommenced laughing. Catching his breath, he tried to say something but was unable to stop giggling in between, "Ye're a ... gnome, right? A leprechaun or something?" he giggled through his teeth. "I've lost it, I've completely lost it," he screamed and started to laugh uncontrollably again. "I'm seein' things! Ha ha ha ha ha, I'm startin' ta see things now. I'm goin' crazy!"

He had tears in his eyes, this time from laughing. His muzzle displayed a big grin, but there were some wrinkles in his lips that showed sadness as a secondary emotion. He looked away, at the door, and tried to catch his breath. He tried to breathe normally, chuckling, cheering a bit to let off steam.

He turned his head towards the creature again, as he was sure this all was just an illusion; but he saw the friendly critter standing there, watching him in mild amazement.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Rocket went again in uncontrollable laughter, "It's still there! This is too good!"

He wiped the tears from his eyes. He was so hysterically amused with this apparent fit of delusion, that he wanted to play it out. "Hey, little fella," he spoke as if to address a small child that was lost, "do ya have a name?

"I am Groot," it squeaked.

His joyous companion threw himself on his back, laughing his guts out, stomping the mattress with his fists in utter enjoyment and said, "It has a name, it's a Groot!"

His lips were pouting in a joyful pose when he pronounced the word 'Groot' (a facial expression typical to bear-like mammals with flexible lips). He kept chortling as if this was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

"I am Groot," the tiny creature repeated.

"Yes you are, yes you are," he laughed. Then Rocket turned on his side, as comfortably as he could and looked at the charming little guy. "O, ye're quite somethin'," he said. "This is so funny." He snickered. Then continued the game, "Say, what kinda creature are ya? I never saw someone like ya."

"I am Groot," it remarked with a variation in tone.

"I know, ye're Groot, but what are you? Are you a Groot?"

"I am Groot" the small guy affirmed.

"You don't say," Rocket giggled. In a way, he was glad that he was loosing his mind and had such a good laugh in his final hours. This was an unexpected but welcome way to say goodbye to the world. He never expected that his brain was able to play tricks like that, but it got him a good mood, so he accepted it.

He inspected the thing a bit closer. Although he couldn't discern its colour really well because it was night, he noticed that it had a wood-like structure and in addition to that, a few leaves that sprouted from its body. Rocket said, smiling broadly, "Ya look like some kind of walkin' plant."

"I am Groot," the plant answered.

"How do I come up with stuff like that?" the patient wondered out loud, snickering.

Then the plant took little steps towards him, one at a time. The furless victim of science was facing the sapling and wasn't scared or distrustful at all. He was curious about the tiny fellow's next moves and hoped it wouldn't pop into thin air the next moment. At least it was good while it lasted.

Something unexpected happened. Groot touched Rocket's lips and he could feel it. That took him aback for a moment, but then he remembered that hallucinations can cause all kinds of sensory perceptions. On Halfworld, he had followed a few courses in psychiatry.

Groot continued to touch his lips with his minuscule hands. Then he rubbed his arms against the gums and formidable teeth. The predator wondered why he would do that but found it entertaining and didn't mind. It felt nice that a person, who for a change didn't seem to be evil, touched him.

In a reflex, he licked Groot. In an instant, he recognised the taste. A little piece of wood. He had stuck it in his mouth before the Nova Corps got him and had kept it since then. He saw a flashback from the Collector heist, looking at the label 'Living wood, Planet X.'

His face took a more serious look. He started to think. There was a relation. Piece of wood, walking tree? Then he figured it out and asked, "I've got a question fer ya. Jus' nod fer 'yes' and shake fer 'no'."

The creature seemed to understand and nodded.

"Are ya from Planet X?"

Groot nodded.

How's that possible? Rocket thought. Did he grow out of that piece of wood? That would make sense, it sure is living. But why was it in his cell?
He became wary; why would the nurse, that piece of work, have put it in a pot and grow it? He moved his head back a bit. He still wasn't sure if this was a real thing. However, if it was real, it could be a part of yet another twisted scheme to torture him.

The small plant looked at him curiously.

"Why are ya here?" Rocket asked less friendly.

Groot pointed at the pot.

"Yes, I know ya come out of the flower pot."

"Why has the nurse been growin' ya?"

Groot shrugged his shoulders and answered, "I am Groot?"

"This doesn't get us further," he said impatiently, "I don't trust that hellcat. What does she want with you?"

Groot repeated his response. He didn't seem to know.

The captive mammal was silent and started to ponder. This wasn't a hallucination. There was a Groot in his room, whatever that was. However, his initial trust in the innocent looking guy was gone. He was thinking hard. A walking plant. What kind of deranged business could they plan to do with a sentient seedling? And why did it show up now?

The sapling noticed the changing attitude of the tormented patient. He seemed to have an idea what to do next. "I am Groot," he said and jumped off the bed. He climbed onto the trolley with the tub and, with some difficulty, managed to get water to flow in.

"Hey, what are ya doin'? Rocket asked more distrustfully. "Stay here, don't jump around and do crazy stuff."
With irritation he said, "You wanna gimme a bath or somethin'?"

Groot shook 'no', vigorously.

"I don't trust ya!" the shackled predator exclaimed.

The plant looked at the angry raccoon with a sad face and replied, "I am Groot!" while pointing to himself. It sounded resentful, like he felt treated unjustly.

"Yeah, yeah, sure" Rocket sneered. "Ye're not one of the bad guys. I'll tell ya, the most innocent lookin' are the worst." Like his tailor, he realised with pain in his heart. Friendly people can't be trusted.

The little fellow looked at him, frowning and shaking his head. "I am Groot!" he repeated, taking a pose of pride and smiled.

"O sure, ye're one of the good guys. Next thing ye're gonna get me outta here. That'll be the day."

Groot didn't answer to this sceptic remark. He just climbed into the tub. The chained prisoner saw the sprout disappear beneath the rim. For a few seconds nothing happened. He heard splashing noises that got louder. Then, all of a sudden a figure rose from the tub, growing bigger by the second.

This scared the hell out of Rocket. He tried to push himself away from it, yanking his chains.

But the small leprechaun, now a giant tree, just sat in the tub and smiled at him.

"That the idea?" the raccoon screamed, "are ya gonna assault me in here?"

The gently smiling giant shook his head a few times. He declared, "I am Groot!" His pitch had sunk many octaves and now he spoke in a pleasant bass voice. His roommate couldn't understand the meaning of his message, but Groot said it with peace and dignity.
He stepped out of the tub and stood on his feet. He had to bend his head to stand completely upright.

"Get away, get away!" Rocket yelled.

The giant just stood there and looked at the confused, battered animal with an enigmatic smile. He remained standing for a while longer and waited for the poor guy to calm down.

Then he slowly, but decisively, walked over to the small raccoon, who jumped back again.

The Flora colossus paused a moment and spoke, "I am Groot," then gently placed an arm on the left shoulder of the bald patient. It seemed to mean 'Don't be afraid.'

That wasn't very convincing to Rocket. He still looked at the giant in fear about what was going to come.

Which happened two seconds later. Groot took the chain around the captive's left arm in his hands and snapped it like it was a piece of string. The other chains followed.
"I am Groot," he let know, taking a bow and retreating a few paces.

This wasn't what Rocket had expected to happen. He sat up on the bed and looked at Groot in surprise. It took him about half a minute to let it all sink in. Then he asked, "So, ye're a test subject too?"

Groot didn't know for sure. Technically, he was inside a cell for test subjects, so the answer was likely to be yes. He nodded.

"What have they done to ya?" his roommate asked curiously.

His fellow captive shook his head, shrugged and remarked, "I am Groot."

Rocket guessed, "Yeah, ya were probably too small an' too young to get tested." Having said that, he wondered if Kree would have such considerations.