Ivy here.

I dodged in between the crowds.

Nebula, I had no doubt, was in pursuit. Hopefully, she, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon would meet and have a nice fight and forget about me until I managed to get off the planet somehow.

"There she is!" yelled Rocket.

Or not. It had been a nice thought while it lasted.

I suddenly wished that I had more weapons. I actually had several on me, but during my fight with Nebula they'd been inaccessible.

I grabbed the gun out of my jacket and fired.

The bullet hit Rocket. He collapsed.

It just knocked him out, okay? I like Rocket. He's adorable – though I wouldn't tell him that. And besides, I don't like lethal weapons.

I stepped into an alley.

"This way," said a voice next to my ear.

A hand gripped mine, pulling me through a doorway into a dark room.

"Narissa?" I could barely make out her white face in the dimness.

"Hide here," said Narissa, pushing me under a table. "I'll distract them."

I crouched under the table, trying to quiet my breathing.

In my shape, I shouldn't be running from anyone. Or fighting. I should be resting up instead. Relaxing.

Footsteps entered the room. Not Narissa's. Too heavy.

I held my weapon, ready to fire.

"Just come out and make it easier," said a voice. "It'll make it easier for everyone involved."

Peter Quill's voice. Did that mean that the Guardians were already here? All of them? Or just coincidence that three people were after me who were part of the guardians?

"Look, we just need to talk to you. You're in a lot of trouble and we want to help you."

I decided to take a chance. Between the Guardians of the Galaxy and Nebula, I'll take the Guardians any day.

I crawled out from under the table and stood up in front of Quill. He looked up and down. "You're in a worse spot than I thought. Ronan the Accuser has people looking for you."

"I would have liked to know that about twenty minutes ago. I was just assaulted by a bald, blue skinned Karen Gillian."

Even in the dimness, his expression was hilarious. Particularly since I'd said it in a Cockney accent. My translator was, apparently, someone damaged. It's supposed to translate languages for me and make my accent blend in. Unfortunately, the damage had someone made my accent change.

"You need to come with me. We can help you. We being me and my… companions. If Ronan thinks you're important, there's nothing he won't do to so he can get to you."

"I don't doubt it. What do you want me to do?"

Narissa came running in at that moment.

Her face went white.

I stepped in front of her. "Narissa, I need you to do exactly what I tell you, okay? Go home and stay there for the rest of the night, no matter what happens. Okay? Tell everyone else to do that."

"Yes, Miss Ivy."

She darted out of the doorway.

"Come with me," said Peter Quill. "I'm Star-Lord, by the way."

Gamora stood outside. "Ronan has searched the galaxy for you. And anyone you might be connected with."

I happen to have excellent connections throughout the galaxy from traveling with the Doctor. Unfortunately, most of them live in either the future or the past, so they weren't much good to me right now.

"Hi, I'm Ivy," I said.

"Why is Ronan

looking for you?" asked Gamora.

I considered what I should say for a moment. "Because I can travel between universes and see the future."

Peter Quill laughed.

"That wasn't a joke."

There was a very awkward pause.

"How Ronan found out, I don't know. But if he gets any information from me, the galaxy is in a very, very bad spot." The entire universe, actually.

"Then we need to get you out of here. Follow me. By the way, are you from England?"

"No. Don't ask about the accent. It's complicated." And extremely irritating. A British accent does not work for me.

At that moment, there was an explosion of light.

The next moment, two people were lying on the ground in front of me. A girl with blond hair and a guy with dark hair. Both of whom I knew well. "Carmen? Edward?"

"Hey Ivy," said Edward, shakily.

I groaned. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"You… you're… you're dead," said Carmen. "Ivy, what's going on? You're dead." A look of horror crossed her face. "Am I dead too?"

"No. Hi, Carmen. No, I'm not dead. Never was."

I reached down, grabbing both her and Edward's hands and pulling them onto their feet. "Hi, Edward. Nice to see you again. Are you both okay?"

"I'm fine," said Edward. Then his eyes locked on my stomach. His eyes widened. "Ivy… what…"

There are few things more awkward than the guy who has a crush on you finding out you're pregnant.

"All right, everyone, that's enough." Carmen glanced around wildly, her gaze fixing on Peter Quill and Gamora for a moment before shifting back to me. "What's going on? I've had quite a few surprises tonight and I don't think I can deal with another just yet."

"I didn't die, Carmen. I never did."

I have never seen Carmen angry in her life.

I don't speak German and my translator was damaged, so can't relate what she said next because I didn't understand it. She was screaming, though, so understanding what she was feeling wasn't really a problem.

I glanced at Peter Quill and Gamora, who were just staring.

"This is the weirdest day I've ever had," said Peter Quill.

"I can almost promise it'll get weirder," said Edward. "Hey, Ivy. You've been living here?"

"Yes, but I think I'll be leaving soon."

"Good. If this is where I think it is, you shouldn't be here. Especially not in… your condition." He sounded so awkward saying it. I should have told him before, when I left. "And what's with the accent?"

I groaned. "It's a long story."