A/N: As promised, here's the second half of that Chapter. Enjoy!

Chain Keeps Us Together

Chapter 6: Escape


...

"I wouldn't touch that."

Peter Quill gasped. Every cell in his body instantly froze at the sudden rumble behind his unprotected back.

Terror and dread pierced his heart like a cold knife. His panicked mind had thought Doctor Strange had caught him, thought the stoic (yet short-tempered) jerk would rage and Quill would be forced to face him, bare handed, right there in the dimly lit den. And the Doctor would probably win, wouldn't he? His enemy's power was still a bit of a mystery. The only thing he knew for sure was that he Strange powerful, powerful enough to send one good looking, quick witted, outlaw to an early grave...

"Uh ha- Uhh. Just kidding," the voice then admitted. "I have no idea what that thing is, actually."

Wait, what?

The guardian whipped around. A man he didn't know, a completely new face, was standing just inside the wooden doorway. No weapons raised, no weird magic, no pain? It made Quill's anxiety immediately melt into confusion.

The man before him definitely wasn't Doctor Strange. His body was too short- not short-short, but shorter than Quill's at least. He had a dark head of curls, messy and wet like he'd just taken a shower. He wasn't at all dressed like the magic wielder. No, this new face was completely casual. A dark long-sleeve button up shirt and light colored pants were his flavor, it seemed. Everything read "not a threat" and, unless this guy had something to hide, Quill thought he looked perfectly pleasant standing there, fiddling a pair of glasses between his fingers like an elementary school teacher.

'WELL? Say something!' he reminded himself.

"Oh. uh. Hi. " Quill thickly swallowed and coughed into his fist, trying his best to match the other's gentle non-threatening air. "I was just havin' a look around. It's a nice little house you guys got here. I like all the... uhh... dust. It's very well arranged."

He thought that should do. Awkwardness wasn't always the best characteristic to showcase, but it certainly came off as "cool and calm". Gamora's approach of "stiff and serious" never usually broke the ice. More often than not, Peter was left floundering in awkward-city after a tense encounter between the daughter of Thanos and anyone who was unlucky enough to greet her first. This guy didn't seem to mind a little awkwardness though, he even laughed.

"Heh. I wouldn't exactly call this place little." The brunette spoke between chortles. "This place is a lot bigger than it looks."

Quill stepped back when the other suddenly walked closer. Dark eyes flickered up to study the guardian's tense posture, almost looking apologetic. "Sorry if I surprised you. I haven't really had the chance to look around yet either. This is my first time on the third floor."

"Oh yeah. Me too. Me too." Was all the prisoner could think to reply. He was on the third floor? How many floors were there?

It was quiet for a few moments. The shorter man was leaning over a glass case, looking at whatever was inside like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen. Feeling anxious, Quill shuffled his feet and glanced at the door. He couldn't just push the guy over and run out. If this was the third floor, then he would have to find a stairway or elevator. The man would catch up to him for sure, and Quill still had no idea who he even was! What if shorty had magic seatbelts too! He was obviously a pal of Doctor Strange, he wouldn't be walking around freely if he wasn't. Maybe he was just faking the whole "calm cool and collected" act. Maybe Strange KNEW he would try to escape and now this guy was gonna pull some magic out of his ass and kill him!

The man suddenly turned his head, like he had sensed Quill's rising panic.

"Hey, take it easy. You don't have to look so freaked out." he said. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

The tone was genuine, but did nothing to quell the guardian's nerves. If anything, it made them worse! Ugh! He hated being called out. His face was heating up with embarrassment, he could feel it. His cheeks must be as red as his jacket! Even a much younger Peter had never been good at hiding his emotions; Yondu used to remind him of that daily. "Mind your face, boy" he'd growl whenever the child's fearless Ravager facade would slip.

"I mean it," The shorter man pressed. His gentle smile was back, twitching hands finally shoving the pair of glasses into his pocket. "I was just wandering around and figured I'd come introduce myself. But uhh... I'm pretty sure you and I have already met."

"We have?"

"I think so," The brunette took a deep breath. "You've met the Hulk, right? Strange told me. Big guy? Green?"

"Yeeeah..." Where was he going with this?

There was an odd smile on that mouth again, an all-knowing twitch of his lips.

"I'm the Hulk." He said. No bullshit, no laugh, he looked the other man dead in the face and said "I'm the Hulk." Quill's immediate disbelief must've shown on his face because the guy hurriedly added. "No, I mean it. That mean green guy? That's me."

"No." No no no. No way this guy was that huge, bumbling, green, muscle monster from the battle with Thanos. "No. That's not- ...YOU? I don't believe it."

"Believe it. I'd show you, but this place doesn't look like it can handle another smashed staircase. I transform into the Hulk... It's hard to explain."

'Despite his suspicions, the guardian slowly nodded. He didn't have a reason not to believe this guy. Granted, it sounded a little farfetched, but maybe even a lie could work in his favor. If this guy was claiming to be the Hulk, then this was the guy that could get Peter out of here. They were technically already battle buddies, so that meant they were on good terms, right? This was Quill's chance to get some answers about where he'd landed,

Baby-Hulk beat him to it though. "Listen, I really need your help here, Star-Lord. Can I ask you a few questions?"

'No' was what Quill wanted to say...

"Sure" he ended up grumbling. The thought of participating in another round of interrogation games made him want to punch a metal spike, but the Hulk looked desperate.

"You were there during the attack on Thor's refugee ship-"

"Yeah, we fought Thanos. He kicked our asses. You remember my name, but you don't remember the fight?"

The shorter man bit his lip.

"That's the funny thing about Hulk. We're the same, but different. I don't always snap out of it with every memory of his attached... and Strange told me your name." He looked down at his feet and back up, eyes serious. "Please. I need to know what happened. All of it, if you don't mind."

Pfff. So Strange was talking about him, eh? That certainly put him in a shit mood.

Quill shrugged, hands moving to rest inside his coat pockets. It was fine. He could suffer through a quick retelling. It's not like he had anything to hide about the mess. Besides, Baby-Hulk had been nothing but friendly to him so far.

"My team and I followed a distress call from a ship that said it had children on board. By the time we got there, the titan Thanos had wiped most of ...of... th-there were already a lot of casualties." he spoke slowly, watching the other's face crumble a bit. There was no better way to say it though. It was the truth. He could still hear the way Rocket's heavy curse made him turn his head towards the viewpoint. It was a sight Quill would never forget. Senseless destruction- That's all he could have the strength to call it.

He continued to explain the skirmish between Thor's friends, the guardians, and Thanos' followers, how Hulk had charged at Thanos first and started a fight that would eventually pull Star-Lord into it too. It wasn't an easy story to tell. The most difficult part was telling him about their failure, how the titan had beat them both down and threatened Star-Lord's life over an infinity stone.

"An infinity stone?" Baby-Hulk whispered. He knew exactly what Quill was talking about. "Did he get it?"

"I don't know. The ground opened up after that."

Anything could have happened. Peter Quill had disappeared, but the other guardians remained. Any one of them could have been used as leverage in his place. Even though Gamora was closer to him than the others, Quill couldn't see her letting any one of the die. They were family. Once again, the terrifying thought occurred to him that the rest of his friends could be dead... that Peter may be the only surviving member of the Guardian's of the Galaxy.

"I see you've found our guest, Dr. Banner."

The third voice to enter the conversation wasn't a happy one.

Doctor Strange, in all his prissy glory, stood brooding in the doorway. His light colored eyes were scanning the room for misplaced somethings, acting thoroughly annoyed.

"Hey! Yeah, we were just looking around." Hulk answered, not at all bothered by the magic man's presence. Quill, however, unconsciously took a few steps back as soon as he noticed Strange standing there. That stupid little speck a fear left over from their earlier encounter was bubbling up like acid reflux. It seemed his chance of escaping was officially foiled

"I can see that. And not touching any of the relics, I hope. Some of them can be fickle things." The way the man's lips curved up at the corners made it seem like Strange had hoped very much that they had touched the relics. The guardian glared. What the hell did "fickle" mean?

"Nah, we were being polite tourists. Getting better acquainted." Hulk grinned like he and Strange were in on some joke. It made Quill's stomach hurt and his blood boil. "But seriously, I believe what he says about Thanos, Stephen. His story checks out. He's on our side."

Hold up

"Stephen?" the third wheel in the room choked. Quill wasn't even sorry about the loud snort that sounded from his nose. Stephen? Said so plainly like the two of them had been friends for years? "So you guys are already on first-name basis? That's cute."

Strange gave him a irritated look, eyes locking on his for the first time since stepping into the room.

"Hmm." he sneered. "And here I thought we were on first-name basis, Star-Lord. I guess it's safe to say that your first name isn't Star?"

Ha.

"No, you're right." Quill smiled sweetly. "It is. And my middle name is Fuck-Off."

"Really? Is that what Mommy used to call you?"

"Stop it." Hulk snapped. He was standing between them, hands out stretched like he'd be able to stop whoever threw the first punch. Quill must have looked like a wreck, sweaty and red faced, eyes glaring daggers at the son-of-a-bitch stupid enough to mention his mother.

"Enough. I said STOP." Hulk's hand pushed at his chest. "We're not doing this anymore, alright? End of story. Clean slate. Kiss and make up."

Clean slate? That made it sound so easy. Yeah, Nope. The hate Quill had for Doctor Jerk-Off wouldn't go away on the Hulk's say so, but still... he respected Baby-Hulk enough to go along with it for now.

Surprisingly, Strange looked like he'd come to that same conclusion.

"I trust Dr. Banner's judgment." was all he said, but it was meant to mean that he still didn't trust Quill as far as he could throw him. Pffsh! As if the guardian gave a damn.

His rival turned his back then, stopping just as he passed through the doorway to add "If you're going to be joining us, Star-Lord, then you might want to use the showers."

"Excuse me?"

"Or you can continue to wear your own vomit." The man glanced back over his shoulder, face neutral. "It's up to you."

Quill blinked and looked down at himself.

Oh. Well, what else could he have said? No? I'll stay gross, thanks?

"I'll use the showers..."


...

Uuugghh.

He was too damn tired for this. Strange moved quickly (too quickly) down a set of narrow stairs and Quill struggled to keep up. This was slowly turning into the longest day of his entire life. From the fight, to the fall, to this mess of an adventure, he'd never be so happy to finally make it back to the Milano... if she was still even in existence.

"In here." The nightmare magician impatiently called.

Quill sighed and followed the blue robes through a set of double doors. As soon as his nose made contact with the smell of new carpet, he found himself suddenly having the energy to look around. The room he was in looked completely out of place compared to everything else he'd seen. It was new everything, zero wood, zero dust, zero half-assed lighting,

"Whoa." slipped from his mouth before he could catch it. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Strange smirk.

"This is my room." Magic Man explained. A shaky finger pointed to his right where another door led into a white-tiled refresher. "The bathroom is in there. I'll assume you know how that all works."

Stepping further into the beautifully upholstered dwelling, Quill was amazed at how clean everything was. It even smelled clean, with only a slight hint of cologne that was distinctly Doctor Strange. The last time he'd smelled it this strongly, the asshole had been leaning over and scaring the life out of him while he was strapped to a bed.

Not a fun memory.

"Mm. Wait-" The thinner man slipped by him without touching and bent down in front of a dresser. With a flick of his hand, it opened and he pulled out a solid black shirt and black pants. "These might be a little tight, but they'll work for now. When you're done, take the elevator down to the first floor. Don't take the stairs. Obviously. There's gaping hole in them."

Quill nodded awkwardly and took the clothes.

"We'll be in the library." the sorcerer continued, edging back towards the hall. "With Dr. Banner there for moral support, I hope you'll be more inclined to answer my questions."

'I'll be more inclined to punch you in the face' is what he wanted to say, but Quill was smart enough to realize he was only getting out of this by the skin of his teeth. As painful as it was, Star-Lord said nothing.

"Right." Strange clicked, reading Quill's silence like an open book. " Well, if you need anything, just remind yourself you're on thin ice and get over it."

He nearly bit his tongue off trying to ignore that one, but luckily the Jerk turned and left before Quill's mind could even come up with anything to say. Once he was sure Strange was out of earshot he let a single insult go, savoring the way it filled the room.

"Asshole."

Whatever. Let it go and do what you gotta do. -That saying worked for his tiffs with rocket, it would work for Strange too. He had to stop letting that guy get to him.

The bathroom worked pretty much the same as all refreshers did, thank god. His first order of business was to clean off his jacket. It was the only thing he was scared to lose and he would NOT be setting it somewhere Strange could purposely misplace it. When he was finished he wiped it down with a towel and hung it on a hook by the door.

"Perfect. Me next." He didn't really know what to do about his dirtied shirt and pants, so he cleaned those by hand too and hung them on the same hook. They probably wouldn't air-dry all crammed together like that, but all he really cared about was the jacket. Unless those pants Strange gave him didn't fit...

Ah well. He'd cross that bridge when he got there.