Tony scowled and took a step forward, his hand automatically reaching out and pushing Peter behind him, while Stephen mirrored his action on the other side until the boy was blocked from the three on the ship.

"That isn't going to happen," he said with finality.

"We want Quill back," the brute standing behind the woman shouted, angrily. "And Rocket."

"And Groot," the blue person with the antenna added.

Now Tony frowned.

"Who?"

"That's the guy I took out," Peter explained, getting the information from Alec – who was, presumably, getting it from their minds since they were close enough for him to do so. "And the raccoon and the tree. The guy's name is Peter, too."

Tony looked back at Peter, clearly surprised.

"The guy from outer space is named Peter?"

"Worry about that later, Tony," Stephen suggested. He hadn't turned his attention from the newcomers. "Let's sort the important things, first."

"Yeah." He looked back at the woman. "What are you doing here?"

That was blunt enough.

"We're looking for someone."

"Named Peter," the blue woman added. "Gamora dreamed about him."

The green woman scowled.

"What part of let me do the talking don't you understand?"

"All of it," the brute replied. "Or she wouldn't be talking, would she?'

"They don't mean us any harm," the blue woman said. "As long as we don't want to hurt Peter."

"We're not here to hurt anyone," the green woman said. "Neither are our friends."

"They pulled weapons on my people," Tony said, pointedly.

"Not to harm. Are they hurt?"

Tony looked back at Peter, who disengaged his helmet – again – and shook his head, understanding that Tony was asking if the spell he'd used to take down the strangers in the corridor had been lethal.

"The tree…" Peter added. "It might be."

"You hurt Groot?" The big guy asked, scowling and taking a step forward.

Tony lifted his hand, immediately, at the motion, but the green-skinned woman's own hand had come up to stop his advance before it became threatening.

"We got off on the wrong foot," she said. "How do we correct it?"

Tony looked at his son.

"Are they going to cause trouble?"

"Alec says no."

The billionaire lowered his hand.

"We go check on your people, and make sure they aren't inured." He noticed the sidearm she was wearing. "No weapons, though."

He would trust Alec, but things could happen, and a firearm made a misunderstanding a lot more serious.

The woman hesitated, and then nodded.

"Fine."

She went back into the ship and the bulky man did, as well. A moment later both returned and neither was wearing any visible weapons. She led the way down the stairs, moving toward Tony, who once more moved in between her and Peter.

"I am Gamora."

Tony nodded.

"Tony Stark." He gestured to Strange, who was watching them all with his intent gaze. "This is Stephen Strange…" only a slight hesitation – but noticeable. "And my son, Peter."

All three of the newcomers looked at Peter.

"You are the one Gamora dreamed about," the one with the antenna said.

She looked awed.

Strange frowned.

"What do you mean, dreamed about?"

"Dreaming is when you fall asleep and have pictures moving in your mind," the large man explained, patiently.

Gamora rolled her eyes but was visibly amused at the somewhat confused expression on Strange's face.

"This is Mantis," she introduced. "And Drax."

"The Destroyer," Drax added.

"You dreamed about Peter?" Tony asked Gamora, directly.

She looked at the boy, studying him, and then nodded.

"I did. It's a long story and I'd like to make sure my friends are uninjured before we continue it."

Tony nodded, and turned toward the building.

"Stephen? Can you cloak their ship, please? In case anyone happens to have a satellite going overhead."

"We can hide the ship," Gamora said, pulling a device and pressing it. A moment later the ship shimmered and then vanished.

Tony's lips quirked in what might have been a smile, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned and led the small group – and their escort of a few SHIELD security people – across the field toward the building.

The first thing they came up to was the fallen tree, with a couple of agents looking down at it, weapons in hand, but not looking all that confident that they were needed.

"What is it?" Strange asked as all of them stopped.

"He's Groot," Gamora answered, kneeling down beside the tree – which didn't look too threatening sprawled in the grass but had definitely been spooky when it was attacking Peter. "A sentient form of plant. What did you hit him with?"

There wasn't any blood, Peter was relieved to see. There was a dented area in the middle of what would have normally been a person's chest – proving that there wasn't anything wrong with Tony's aim.

"A repulser blast," Tony answered, activating his helmet, and Peter knew that he was interfacing with FRIDAY – probably running all kinds of scans on the tree as well as the other two.

"Will he be alright?" Peter asked, kneeling down, as well, and reaching out to touch it, curiously, just as it started shuddering.

"He seems to be coming around," Gamora said, also touching Groot.

"Stand back," Mantis warned. "He is angry and –"

Sure enough, the eyes opened, just then, even as Peter stood and backed off, finding himself once more being pulled behind Tony's armored body. The tree lurched upright, looking around, wildly, and Gamora raised her hand.

"Easy! It's okay."

"I am groot!"

Even as it spoke, Peter was able to translate in his head, and while the others heard I am groot, he heard where's Rocket.

Obviously Gamora heard the same thing, because she spoke, again.

"He's fine, Groot. Relax, okay? We're getting things straightened out, now."

"I am groot?"

"Why does he keep saying that?" One of the SHIELD people asked, confused.

Peter was staring at the tree, unable to hide the surprise in his expression. It was like something out of Lord of the Rings come to life, really, and was incredible As if aware of his scrutiny, the tree turned its expressive eyes on him.

"I am Groot."

"I'm Peter," the boy told him, in reply.

"What did he say?" Strange asked, curiously.

"He said he's Groot."

"You can understand him?" Gamora asked, surprised.

"Yeah."

"Stay here, Peter," Tony said, moving inside the corridor, with Gamora, Stephen and Drax all following – along with the security people, of course.

He waited just long enough to confirm with FRIDAY that Peter wasn't following, and then stopped just inside the door, watching as his people checked over the other two fallen forms."

"That one looks human," Strange said, looking at the man.

"He is," Gamora confirmed. "He's from this planet, as a matter of fact. His mother is, anyway."

"And the trash panda?" Tony asked, disengaging his helmet. "What is it? A pet?"

"No. It's Rocket – and don't let him hear you call him anything derogatory," she warned. "It's his special point of fury."

"He talks?"

"Yes. Too much, most of the time."

The security people had called medics, who were now swarming the corridor as well, under the watchful eye of their protectors.

"Do we need a vet?" Tony asked, watching as a couple of them ran careful hands over the furry little form, but were clearly baffled by what they were seeing.

"No."

"Will he bite?" one of the medics asked.

"He might," Gamora conceded. "Just stay clear until he wakes."

It looked liked both were beginning to come around, if the noises that they were making was any indication. Peter and Groot walked into the doorway, standing beside each other and watching as Peter Quill groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, and then opened his eyes, looking around.

"What the hell, man…? He asked, grumpily.

"Your plan was a terrible one," Drax told him, walking over – ignoring all the weapons that the security force had in their hands – and leaning over to offer him a hand up. "Next time, I will lead the infiltration team and you can be the back-up."

Quill frowned, looking around, still a bit dazed – even as Rocket opened his eyes and rolled enough to regain his feet, reaching for the gun that he was no longer carrying.

"Did we win?"