Chapter 14: Crocodile Rock - Elton John

Two days later Peter showed up at Paradise Lost on foot. It was three o'clock Terran time and the bar wasn't opened yet. The motorcycle gang lounged outside the bar, perched atop their bikes. He was drooling as he checked out their various bikes. Some had shiny chrome from their handlebars to their fenders. Some were sleek looking beasts with narrow frames and high windshields. Others were some weird customized monsters of bright colors and intricate detail work.

Peter let out a whistle.

"Pretty aren't they?" A man with flyaway white hair and a grizzled beard asked.

Peter nodded.

"So, what's a guy gotta do to get a bike like that around here?"

The man gave him an appraising once-over before he slid his leg off his bike and stood up.

"You're in the market for a bike?"

Peter nodded again.

"Good because I've been looking to offload mine before I get back to the mainland."

Peter blinked. Ok, that wasn't exactly where he thought this conversation was going. The man rubbed the back of his neck.

"My daughter keeps telling me motorcycles aren't acceptable in the Pittsburgh suburbs."

"Well lucky you found me then," Peter couldn't keep the hint of glee out of his voice. He could smell a deal coming.

"Now hold on a moment son, I can't go giving my Lucy to anyone. Especially not some little upstart who hasn't even introduced himself yet."

The rest of the bikers sat on their rides watching the scene like it was some damn Shakespeare performance.

"Names, Grady, Owen Grady. I go by Peter though."

He stuck out his hand. The other man latched onto it with a crushing handshake.

"Name's Dennis. Now some of my boys came crying to me earlier this week. Something about needing a bike. Now just cuz you came highly recommended don't mean shit. If you want this bike you're gonna have to prove yourself to me."

"Prove myself?" Peter asked cocking his head to the side and giving Dennis an appraising look.

Despite being an elderly man, Peter couldn't help but feel a wave of intimidation wash over him. It prickled the back of his neck and made him want to hunch down and look at his boots. Something in his tone reminded him of the Ravager deck officers. Dennis had experience and if nothing else you had to respect that.

"Yeah, I may be retiring and shipping out to the mainland later this month. But Lucy here," He tapped the metallic body of the motorcycle,

"She's my legacy and I won't part with her for just anyone."

Peter eyed the back. It was a lovely black and green frame. The design was simple, clean cut, mid-height handlebars, an older style single headlight rested front and center, and a short windshield rose just high enough to protect the rider. The seat was well worn, and clearly well-loved leather. All and all the bike was a beauty, not as pretty as the Milano, but out of everything he'd seen on Terra since he'd returned this was the only vehicle he'd thought might give his ship a run for her money.

"What do I have to do?"

Dennis flashed a toothy grin at one of the other bikers.

"I'm glad you asked son."

Peter gulped.

The bikers blindfolded Peter and drove him up a mountain to a winding patch of empty road. At the top, they tugged his blindfold off and he found himself staring down one of the shoddiest piece of equipment he'd ever seen in his life. It was a ramshackle 'bike' with two weather-worn tires, an exposed engine, and more rust than Peter cared to think about. It looked like it was held together by a wire and a couple of strings of twine. In theory the thing could move, in reality he wasn't too sure.

"If you want a bike son, first you gotta show us you've got the guts to ride!" Dennis said as he clapped him on the back,

"All you gotta do if you want Lucy is hit 90 mph before you reach the bottom of the mountain. The gang'll be sitting around various places watching you for when you do open 'er up."

Peter groaned. This was such a bad idea, Gamora was going to kill him if this is how he died.

Dennis gave him a cheeky grin and a clap on the back, "Well, welcome to the jungle brother, hope you enjoy the ride." With that last look, he kick-started his own bike and headed down the mountain, leaving Peter alone with the bucket of bolts.

Peter stepped closer to the scrap heap, running his hand over what might have at one point in time been the ignition. He turned the key and with a terrible dying wheeze, the bike sputtered to life.

This was such a bad idea, but when had that ever stopped him before?

Never that's when. He'd always had a bit of a stupid streak when it came to plans, but he was so glad his team wasn't there to see it reach new heights.

Peter took one last long hard look at the bike before he stepped closer and swung his leg over the rusty frame. He slid onto the duck-taped covered seat, his hands finding the worn grips of the handlebars. The bike creaked in protest but remained in one piece.

Peter slowly lifted his hand behind his ear and activated his helmet. If he was going to die at least he'd do it with style. With that final thought, he revved the engine and knocked the kickstand back.

Riding was a rush; insects pinged across the windshield and splattered onto his mask. The noise of the jungle faded into the background next to the unholy howling of the motorcycle. Peter tried to take the first few corners slowly, but the bike only seemed to have one speed, deadly.

The wind tore at his clothing as the mountain road continued to drop into a harsh ninety-degree decline. The first time the front tire wobbled Peter thought he hit something, then the road dropped out from under him and he realized that he was in open air. His stomach tried to crawl its way up his throat and his heart nearly stopped as the bike clanked back down onto the asphalt.

Holy shit! Peter thought as he leaned to the right, a whoosh of air swept past him as he took a corner. This was even better than he imagined. If he made it down this mountain alive he needed to get one of these for Rocket. The raccoon would shit a brick for a chance to ride something this dangerous.

He didn't dare take his eyes off the road for anything, not even for a quick glance at the speedometer.

Soon enough the jungle was receding, and the road flattened out. Peter noticed the bike slowing down slightly. In front of him, he could make out the distant figures of the other bikers parked alongside the road. He eased off the throttle and pressed into the questionable brakes. The bike rolled into a stop, smoke pouring out of the remaining engine. A sound like a gunshot echoed across the jungle and the engine dropped out of the rusty frame of the motorcycle with a crash.

Peter jolted as he stepped off what remained of the bike, waving his hand to clear the smoke away from him. Honestly, he'd known the bike was a piece of crap but to think that he'd literally been on the bike's last ride was a bit unnerving. When the smoke cleared enough for him to breathe regularly he reached up and deactivated his helmet. The smell of burning rubber hit his nose and it crinkled.

"So, did I make it?" Peter asked turning to the bikers.

The bikers stared at Peter and Peter stared back. No one said anything over the crackles of the smoldering bike frame.

A low impressed whistle came from Dennis followed by a slow clap, "Well shit kid, I didn't expect you to do it. Let alone put my own speed record to shame on the first try!"

"So, I made it?"

"Kid you did more than make it. You broke 130 mph on a road I wouldn't even go 100 on. You're one crazy S. O. B. Grady." Dennis clapped him on the back and slid a pair of keys into his hand, "Take good care of Lucy for me."

Peter couldn't keep the grin off his face as he rode into work the next morning on a gleaming green motorcycle.

The lab was as quiet as ever as Peter stepped in for the late-night shift. His raptors immediately scented the air and perked up from inside their corner pen. The pack was growing at an astounding speed, they'd more than tripled in size and were almost up to knees now. They'd outgrown their incubator a week and a half ago. Barry and Rachel had been discussing moving them to the training arena and Peter was all for it. The further they were from Wu all the better in his opinion, but for now, they'd been moved into a pen that took up about a quarter of the room.

If all went well by the end of the next week they'd be in a bigger space, well a relatively bigger space. Until then Peter was letting them roam about the lab when he was on babysitting duty by himself.

What could he say he was a sucker for baby dino eyes?

"Hey, how are my favorite gals doing?" He cooed as he stepped over to their pen and swung the gate open.

He was greeted with a series of high-pitched chirps of Momma! As the four raptors mobbed him, jumping up on his legs and their sharp claws digging into the fabric of his pants.

"Hey! Hey!" Peter yelped as he tripped backward on the dinosaurs underfoot, "I just got here!" He was immediately swarmed with their tiny bodies crawling over him to get closer to his warmth.

"Missed Momma!" Charlie chirped, her green striped tail lashing out playfully as she nuzzled under his chin. Echo came up behind her and took a quick nip as she pushed her to the side. Charlie squeaked and slid onto the floor in an uncoordinated mess of limbs. Her tail twitched next to her snout as she fumbled to turn back over. Charlie still was more than a little clumsy despite her growth, that mixed with her natural curiosity had led to her getting stuck behind filing cabinets not just once but multiple times.

"Okay, okay. That's enough now you guys. Echo don't pick on your sister."

Peter helped Charlie roll over and get back on her feet. Then he picked Echo up to stare sternly into her eyes. The little reptile lowered her head and let out an assenting chirp.

"Good girl."

"Play Momma?" Charlie asked tentatively from her place on the floor. Peter grinned and set down Echo.

The girls' language was steadily improving, it was still only at about a toddler's level but considering they'd been born less than four weeks ago it was remarkable by any standard.

Blue stood off to the side watching all her sisters' antics with her head cocked to the side. Blue was… well, she was a little different than the rest of the pack. She was quieter and more cautious than her sisters. She liked to look before she leaped, but man, when she was ready, was she wicked clever. Peter hadn't fully sealed their pen once and Blue had the gate opened before he even left the room.

Delta though was the usual suspect and, as always, she was up to trouble. She was crouched low to the floor, her tail twitching behind her as she tried to stay balanced, that was her typical pouncing stance. For some reason, Delta had developed a fascination with his laces. He'd walked in with them untied one day and since then she wouldn't leave them alone. She had a bad habit of trying to jump on his boot in an attempt to get at the laces on his boots.

He had nightmares just thinking about what she'd do if she saw him without his shoes on. The suckers had sharp little baby claws.

"Okay Charlie, what do you want to play?" Peter asked crouching down next to her.

"Sniffy sing!" She warbled at him excitedly. Peter snorted off course that's what she wanted to play. Charlie always picked the same thing. At this point, the question was more of a formality than anything else.

When the girls were just starting to move around more frequently he'd created a handful of games for them to play based on his own memories of his childhood: hide 'n' seek, tag, etc. The names though hadn't stuck very well. Instead, the pack each had their own names for various games. Peekaboo became jumpy scare, tag, prey, and somehow sardines had become sniffy sing. Now that he thought about it that one was probably been on him. Mostly because despite being decent at tracking now, a few weeks ago they'd been abysmal. Peter had hidden on top of one of the counters in the room and the girls had absolutely freaked when they couldn't find him. Since then whenever he hid, he made sure to burst into song periodically just to reassure the girls he was still nearby.

Echo cocked her head in interest, "I goes first." She decided, puffing her chest out to make herself appear bigger.

"No, I!" Charlie knocked her head against her sister's shoulder. Then the two raptors were squabbling again. The broke out into a series of high-pitched growls before they were tussling on the floor.

Peter sighed. Thank Asgard Groot was an only child. He let it continue for a few minutes longer hoping the two youngsters of the pack would sort it out themselves. It quickly became obvious neither side was giving an inch when Charlie tried to bite Echo's tail. Peter decided he probably needed to step in.

"Okay, that's enough you ー SHIT!"

Peter felt a stabbing pain radiating from his leg. Alarmed, he looked down to see Delta with her teeth sunk into his calf a loose shoestring caught in her mouth.

"Delta!" Peter hissed. That really fucking hurt! The little shit's teeth were damn sharp. He let out an impressive litany of swears as he reached down to yank the reptile off him.

Before he got that far though Blue was there. She rushed in and nipped at Delta, shouldering her off and away from Peter as she hissed. Her tail lashed angrily behind her. Blue planted herself firmly between Peter and Delta. Echo and Charlie watched frozen in place as they waited for the outcome.

Peter reached down and pulled his pant leg up to get a better look at his calf. The injury was a four-inch oval of puncture wounds. Each one of Delta's serrated teeth left its mark, thankfully it wasn't bleeding too heavily, and she hadn't torn a chunk out of his leg. He grimaced that would have been less than ideal.

At least this happened when he was on babysitting duty, who knows what would have happened if they hurt one of the humans around here. Nothing good he was sure. Hell, if the lab procedures he'd seen were normal they'd probably be put down. Peter shivered, yeah that wasn't happening on his watch.

Sighing he rolled his pant leg back down. He'd find a medkit patch himself up and then deal with the riled-up babies. There was a tang of iron in the air from the blood and he could tell by the way the pack's nostrils twitched they were picking it up too. They rocked side to side, and Blue was growling louder now.

"It's fine everyone. I'm fine." Peter said, trying to dispel the tension.

"Momma?" Delta warbled in confusion her head drooping.

"Come here Delta." Delta started to step forward only for Blue to snap at her neck. She startled backwards at the aggression and then whined.

"Blue let her through." He ordered. Blue cocked her head at him as if she didn't understand why, before she skittered next to his uninjured leg still growling at Delta.

Delta cautiously crept forward her tan underbelly low to the ground. She stopped just in front of Peter, her head was lowered, and she wasn't meeting his eyes.

"Do you know what you did wrong?" Peter asked, gently. He'd learned in all his time of raising Groot that yelling really didn't get the point across.

"Hurt Momma." Delta murmured, her clicking voice was almost unrecognizable in the translator. She twitched her nose towards his injured leg.

"That's right. What have I told you about the shoelaces?"

"Not bad."

"That's right they aren't hurting you and you should leave them alone. But more importantly, you can't bite people."

Peter reached out and grasped Delta by the back of her neck, pulling her towards him so he can meet her tiny grey eyes.

"Annoy me though Momma. The prey keeps moving!" Delta growled.

Peter sighed, so it was an instinct thing. He had no idea what to do with that, even in space it was well known you couldn't overwrite instinct the best you could do was avoid triggers. He made a note to remove his shoelaces later. They were little predators, after all, Peter mused, they were going to be real trouble when they got to full size, especially if they're maturity didn't grow as fast as their bodies.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me, Del. It was an accident and I forgive you. But what if you hurt someone else like Uncle Barry. They might hurt you in return."

The girls didn't really remember much of the other staff, except him and Barry. They recognized their scents, Peter had asked them about that one, but they didn't pay them much attention. They didn't like Rachel, with all the shots she gave them Peter didn't blame them. After him, Barry seemed to be the one they had the most interest in.

"I bite Uncle Barry again then!" Delta said in defiance.

Peter groaned. Why was parenting so hard?

"That's not what I ー Look no biting anything that isn't food." Peter flicked her nose for emphasis, "Not even if they're annoying. That goes for all of you." He looked around at the rest of the pack.

Charlie and Echo had crept closer when and were watching the interaction with interest.

"I want to hear it from all of you. There are bad people close by and if you bite them I might not be able to protect you." Peter explained. The pack stared at him with blank eyes. Great, this discussion was over their heads. "I'm the Momma so that means that I get to bite them, okay?"

"Ok, you bite," Delta said dipping her head in agreement. Her chirp of affirmation was echoed by her sisters.

Blue was last she stayed characteristically quiet. She cocked her head to the left and asked, "What if Momma not here? Then I bite them." She said her chest puffing out as she tried to look bigger.

Peter groaned internally. He could tell that he'd probably be having this conversation with them a lot in the future.

"Blue, trust me if the bad guys come for you I'll be here. Remember the song?"

Charlie enthusiastically perked up, her foot tapped against the floor as she sang, her words came across with a slight lisp, "Just call my name I'll be there in a hurry. You don't have to worry."

Peter smiled, "That's right. So, if I'm not there your job is to take care of your sisters. You're the oldest after all Blue and big sisters look after the younger ones."

Blue nods at him once.

"Let me fix my leg up and then who's ready for a game of sniffy sing?"

Author's Note: *waves from under the rock* Hi everyone so the next chapter is finally out! First I wanted to say thank you for all the reassuring comments you guys wrote to me. Rereading them really gave me the motivation to finally finish this chapter. I know this is a pretty fluffy chapter, the next one will probably be pretty fluffy to before we have a time skip and dive into the real juicy AU Jurassic world plot. Also, I basically listened to the title of this chapter on repeat while I wrote. I can absolutely imagine Quill jamming out to this song in the Milano. Anyways hope you enjoy and let me know what you think of the babies personalities. I've been trying to flesh them out but there's not much to go off of canon-wise. As always comments are life and very much appreciated!