When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
When I lay me down to die
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
John Anderson was the one person Theresa Stark ever dated, he was her first kiss, he was her first everything. They'd been dating for two years when their wedding rolled around, which was quite an achievement seeing how Theresa really didn't care for him. He annoyed her with his pompous and judging ways, but Theresa realized from a young age that she was doomed to a fate of partying and divorces unless she figured something out. When she was thirteen and first started to appreciate men, she immediately realized something
The type of guy she liked wasn't the type that returned sentiments like that.
Which wouldn't do at all. She didn't want to end up dating men who left her in the dust and turn into one of the many women her dad brought home as much as she didn't want to end up like her father.
So at the age of thirteen, Theresa Stark took it upon herself to find a nice man who'd stick around. At age seventeen she met John Anderson, who was twenty-one at the time and instantly realized he was the one she'd be seeing. Not that she liked him all that much; he was just the best candidate. He was rich, accomplished, and was as plain as plain could be.
But as she sat looking at her reflection, she realized that she couldn't make this commitment.
So she snuck out the window.
This was pretty damn comical, seeing how she didn't think to change her clothes and was climbing out in a wedding dress. But, by the grace of god, no reporter caught sight of her as she slipped into her car.
"Jarvis, you up?"
"I'm always up, Miss Theresa," Jarvis replied smoothly.
"Take us out of here," She commanded.
"Any particular destination?" Jarvis asked as the car pulled out of the spot.
"Remote."
"How about the cabin Master Tony has in Missouri?"
"Sounds perfect. Oh goddamn it," Theresa mumbled "I forgot a change of clothes."
"There are some in the back seat, Miss Theresa. I took the liberty of preparing for you changing your mind," Jarvis said, sounding almost smug.
"Jarvis, you're amazing."
"I know, Miss Theresa."
Goin' up to the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
Gonna go to the place that's the best
"Did you hear that?" Theresa said, looking up from her book and shifting on the old couch in the rustic cabin her father owned for no particular reason.
"Yes, it came from about half a mile west of here," Jarvis replied "I hope you're not planning to follow the loud noise."
"Dial 91, Jarv," Theresa replied, grabbing her coat and running out the door of the cabin
Theresa walked for what she estimated as nearly half a mile through the forest when she came upon a large meadow where she saw it; a giant, smoking, spaceship.
"DAMN THIS!" A blue man yelled, kicking the ship irritably "Now We're Stranded On Some Backwater Planet THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO REPAIR OUR DAMN SHIP!"
"Listen, Boss," Another man started before getting a dirty look from the blue man.
"What I would give for someone who actually KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!" The Blue man yelled at a man Theresa assumed was a mechanic.
"Listen, Boss, We're missing an important compound and we CAN'T fix the ship until we have that!" The mechanic yelled back at him.
"What compound?" Theresa suddenly spoke up, all the men turning and pointing guns at her. She lifted her hands in surrender as the blue man stalked towards her.
"How long have you been watching us?" He demanded.
"Long enough. What compound?" Theresa asked.
"We call it Hyzakcolro, or Monosodium glutamate," The mechanic said.
"We have that here, we call it MSGs," Theresa shrugged.
"Is it hard to find?" The Blue man asked.
"Depends how pure you want it, we put it in some food for a taste enhancer." The entire crew looked at her with disturbance, slowly lowering their guns.
"Ya'll shouldn't be doing that," One of the men said.
"We know," Theresa replied.
"Do you put it in liquids?" The mechanic asked.
"Soup, yeah, want me to get you some?" Theresa asked.
"Yeah, we'll need about 10 gallons," The mechanic said, making Theresa huff slightly.
"Alright, if y'all just stick around and fix whatever else happened, I'll be back in a bit," Theresa smiled before going to walk away before the Blue Man stopped her.
"Why're you helping us?"
"You're Aliens, I might as well help fix your spaceship," Theresa smiled.
Prepare yourself, you know it's a must
Gotta have a friend in Jesus
So you know that when you die
He's gonna recommend you to the spirit in the sky
Later when Theresa returned, lugging a couple cases of soup, the blue man finally introduced himself and the others.
"I'm Yondu and this is my crew. How about you, Girly?" Yondu asked as the men carried the cases into the ship.
"My name's Theresa."
"That's a shit name," Yondu said bluntly. Theresa just laughed.
"You could call me my nickname; Tessa."
"That's much better," Yondu stated "Why do you go by Theresa?"
"All my life I've tried to be average, to not stand out. I've given up on that enterprise," Tessa joked, before looking slightly apprehensive "I was wondering…"
"Yeah?"
"Can I look inside your ship?" She asked hopefully. Yondu rolled his eyes and motioned for her to follow him. As he led her around the ship, all of the crewmen stepped to the side and looked at Tessa with wide eyes.
"Hey, what do you do?" Tessa asked curiously.
"What do you mean?" Yondu asked suspiciously.
"I mean, you can't just spend all your time flying around, you must have some form of job," Tessa said as she looked at a particular piece of machinery.
"I don't think you'll like the truth," Yondu admitted.
"Try me."
"We take things, not necessarily legally, and sell them."
It was quiet for a long moment.
"You are all Space-Pirates. That is so cool!" Tessa said while smiling excitedly. Yondu raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
"I like you, Girly," Yondu said, a plan starting to take shape "Which makes me wonder why you were out in the woods all by yourself."
"My dad has a cabin a mile away, and I heard a noise." Tessa shrugged.
"So, you decided it would be a good idea just to wander over to the loud noise?" Yondu asked, oh yes, this girl would be perfect.
"I was curious!" Tessa protested.
"Does your father know what you're doing?"
"Seeing as how he doesn't know where I am, I'd say no," Tessa said, suddenly getting a bit closed off.
"Why doesn't he know?" Yondu asked as he frowned.
"I sort of… I sort of ran out at my wedding and went to one of my dad's unoccupied houses," Tessa said as she worried her lip.
"Why'd you run out? Arranged marriage?" Yondu asked.
"No, I just… Like I said, I've been trying to act normal my whole life and that included a normal husband. But once we were at the church, I realized I couldn't do that, so I ran. I don't know what I'm going to do when I go home." Tessa laughed without humor.
"Maybe you don't have to," Yondu said.
"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.
"You could come with us."
It became quiet for a long moment.
"You want me to join you, in space, as space pirates?" Tessa asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes."
"YES!" Tessa said, her smile growing wide "Just, let me grab some of my stuff!"
As Tessa ran off to go back to the cabin for her stuff and to wipe Jarvis, one of Yondu's men came up to him.
"What're you doing, inviting her aboard?" He asked.
"Tell me, who does she remind you of?" Yondu asked. The man frowned before his face morphed into realization.
"Peter."
"Exactly, and we're going to play matchmaker."
Gonna recommend you to the spirit in the sky
That's where you're gonna go when you die
When you die and they lay you to rest
You're gonna go to the place that's the best
Peter Jason Quill sighed in annoyance when he saw he had an incoming call from Yondu.
"Hey, Yondu. Listen if this is about the whole deal on-."
"This ain't about no deal, though we are havin' a conversation about that later," Yondu said gruffly "This I about a new Ravager I picked up and I want you to watch her."
"What? Yondu I don't wanna- Hold on, did you say her?" Peter asked.
"I did."
"What species?" Peter asked curiously, sort of hoping for a Kree girl.
"Terran."
Peter froze.
"Terran?" Peter asked, shocked.
"That's what I said, boy, rendezvous is in an hour on Xandar." And with that Yondu hung, leaving Peter to ponder the Terran girl he was about to have on his ship.
Never been a sinner, I never sinned
I got a friend in Jesus
So you know that when I die
He's gonna set me up with the spirit in the sky
Peter shifted impatiently at the bar where he and Yondu always met; Yondu was half an hour late and Peter was getting anxious. Finally the Ravagers showed up, Yondu in front with a small blonde girl all decked out in Ravager's clothing to his right.
"Tessa, this is Peter, the Terran we picked up 'bout twenty years ago," Yondu introduced, Peter giving her a roguish smile and Tessa returning it with a wary look.
"You must've done something pretty spectacular to have the Ravagers pick you up," Peter said.
"Nah, just knew rudimentary chemistry," Tessa then smiled for the first time in front of Peter, and her first true smile in a long while.
Tessa hated her smile; because once she started to want a respectable life she could never change how she truly smiled, but now… Now who cares?
Peter's smirk became a grin as he took in Tessa's smile; a roguish grin that screamed unrepentant wrongdoing.
"Well, I'd like to buy you a drink," Peter said, leading her away from the Ravagers and to the bar.
Yondu smirked, believing his plan to be going perfectly, when, in fact, any want to be with Tessa sexually was draining away from Peter. And Peter and Tessa knew in their hearts that what they'd felt when they saw each other wasn't romantic interest; it was a start of a friendship they both lacked in their lives up to this point.
Oh, set me up with the spirit in the sky
That's where I'm gonna go when I die
When I die and they lay me to rest
I'm gonna go to the place that's the best
Go to the place that's the best