A/N: Wow. Two months without an update? That's... wow. I'm sorry. In any case, I hope you guys had a marvelous holiday season and are enjoying January so far! Here's the next update, (sorry it's a little short), but please, read, enjoy, and review!

Peter tried to avoid shifting uncomfortably, but after the last time he'd been to the Collector's and everything had, well, exploded, he couldn't help it. And honestly, the whole place just gave him the willies. He hoped Cooper's sister was alright.

"You guys ready?" he asked as they came to the door.

"You know it," Rocket said, hefting his gun. Gamora slapped him upside the head.

"No guns until we need to leave."

"Hey, I never said I was gonna use it. Just… keeping it handy."

"Whatever," she scoffed. Peter glared at them, then opened the door.

No one immediately approached them, so Peter signaled for Gamora and Rocket to go look for Lila. Just as they were out of sight, hidden by the various displays that cluttered the shop, an attendant shuffled forward, almost identical to the last one, but this time with bright blue skin.

"Welcome," she greeted. "Do you have an appointment?" Her grin was strained as she glanced nervously between the three of them.

"Ah, no," Peter replied. "Just thought we'd pop in and browse."

"Of course. Are you looking for anything in particular today?"

"I am Groot."

"What the big guy said. Something- someone- like me. Younger though. You have anything like that?"

"Ah, you must be referring to the master's latest acquisition. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid there is already a buyer. Perhaps I can show you something similar?" Just as he opened his mouth to respond, there was a loud crash crash CLATTER SHATTER meow from somewhere in the shop.

"If you'll excuse me," the girl breathed, and ran off.

"Dammit Rocket," Peter muttered.

"I am Groot," Groot agreed.

"Go find him," Peter ordered. "Drax, see if you can find Gamora. I'll go look around. Shout if you've found her, then meet up back here. Let's move, we don't have much time."

::::

Gamora sighed deeply at the sound of whatever disaster Rocket had caused across the shop and kept moving. Hopefully that would buy them a little bit of time.

Or drastically decrease it, the more cynical side of her said. She kept looking.

Large, clear containers towered over her on every side, some holding plants, some holding people, none of them human. The farther back she got, the more secure the cages looked until one finally caught her eye.

Curled up in the back corner was a little girl who looked scared and confused and exhausted. She was wearing a dress similar to the shop attendants and someone had forced some makeup onto her, trying to make her look prettier? Older?
More desirable, Gamora sneered. An item to be bought and sold that just needed a little fixing up. The assassin approached the door and began to examine the lock. The noise startled the girl inside and she jumped, turning to stare at Gamora with wide eyes.

"It's okay," she soothed. "Can you hear me?" The girl nodded hesitantly. "I'm going to get you out and take you back to your brother, okay?" That got her interest.

"My brother? Where is he? Is he okay?" she cried urgently. Tears were welling in her eyes as she crawled closer to the door.

"Yes, he's fine. We have him on our ship. Now let me figure this out."

She still hadn't made much progress when Drax came around the corner.

"Is this her?" he asked.

"Why else would I be trying to get her out?" He just looked confused, so she sighed and said, "Yes."

She was not prepared for him to open his mouth and just start yelling.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, staring at him like he'd gone insane.

"Peter said to shout when we found her. AAAHHHHH!"

"I do not have time for this," she muttered darkly, drawing her sword and slamming it between the door and the jam, causing Lila to scream in surprise. The door shattered as it was pried open, spraying glass all around.

"Come on, come on," she said and grabbed Lila. "Let's get out of here. Strax!"

He paused. "Huh?"

"Stop screaming. Let's go."

An alarm had started blaring and gunfire was going off somewhere in the building. Lila buried her face in Gamora's shoulder and held on tightly as they ran. They met up with Peter near the door.

"Got her?"

Gamora nodded.

"Good."

Groot and Rocket crashed through a display case holding several various items of (probably) extreme value, shooting at someone coming behind them.

"Let's move!" the raccoon yelled.

Out the doors and into the bright sunlight. The sun was just starting to set and their ship was docked a thousand yards away. They ran.

"Cooper!" Peter shouted as they neared the spaceship. "Cooper! Now!"

Thankfully, Cooper either heard or saw them coming, because the bay door began to open and the ramp lowered. Gamora sprinted up the ramp first while the others brought up the rear, firing at whatever security was chasing them. Peter got to the controls just as Cooper finished closing the doors and got them into the air as quick as he could.

"Great job kid," he said and ruffled his hair. Cooper smiled, pleased with himself.

"Did you get her?"

Peter nodded. "Gamora's with her in the back. Go see her."

Cooper tried to run, nearly face planted, and settled for hopping on one leg as fast as he could to the back of the ship.

"Lila!"

She was sitting on a box in front of Gamora, who was helping her to get the make-up off, but as soon as she saw her brother, she was up and away like a flash.

"Cooper!" She buried her face in his chest and as soon as she embraced him the tears started flowing. "Where's Nathaniel?" she asked

"We don't know yet. He got sold to someone else." They finally separated and looked each other up and down.

"How's your leg?"

"Getting better I hope. Peter, he's the captain by the way, put some stuff on it, so hopefully that helps." He glanced over to where Gamora was watching them with a wistful expression. "So you've met Gamora then."

"Yeah. She's scary, but nice." He couldn't help but grin.

"That's what I thought too."

They went back over by the assassin so she could finish getting the makeup off.

"There you go," she said. "That's all of it."

"Thanks," Lila said softly. All of a sudden, the events from the past few days came rushing in and overwhelmed the small girl, bringing her to tears. Cooper placed an arm around her shoulder and made gentle shushing noises. Though Gamora liked to believe she was a stone cold assassin, it simply wasn't true, and the more she watched these two siblings interact, the more she found herself missing her own sister, as convoluted as their relationship had been.

"We'll find your brother," she promised the tiny girl. "But for now, you need food and rest, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffled.

"Come on. Let's go get some food, then you can take a nap. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll even tell you a story." That piqued their interest.

"A story about what?" Cooper asked.

"Mm. Maybe the one about how a bunch of losers saved the galaxy."

A/N: Tada! Two out of the three chilluns are found! Stay tuned for what's going on back at home and with Clint and his merry men as they navigate space.

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