Buried:

Pay day was Peter's favorite day. There was just something so jovial about it. The 800,000 units they were about to get paid for the two flame throwing fugitives would definitely make up for the burns on his back. Nothing could ruin the pleasure Peter got from getting paid. Well I guess a bomb could, cause it did. Peter really hated bombs; almost as much as he hated flame throwers. He couldn't even begin to tell you how many times Rocket had almost blown up his ship while making the suckers. But for once, this explosion was not Rocket's fault.

The Guardians were seated at a round table with Nova Prime and the newly promoted, Denarian Dey joining them. The white haired woman smiled, "Congratulations on another job well done. I trust the mission went smoothly?"

The misfit team gave each other weird glances before Peter slowly answered, "More or less."

Nova Prime had a confused look on her face as she asked, "I hate to ask, but when we processed the two fugitives, we noticed that one of them had an-. How do I say this? An interesting wound on an interesting part of his body. Would you please tell me exactly what happened?"

Peter looked at Gamora, flustered. She met him with a cold gaze, daring him to say anything. Wanting to keep his genitals attached to his body, Peter looked down and mumbled, "I don't know what happened. I was on fire half of the time."

"Really? None of you know how one of the fugitives ended up with a knife in his butt?" Dey asked looking at them skeptically. They all avoided eye contact. He rolled his eyes and sighed, "Okay, which one of you stabbed the guy in the ass?"

"Gamora did it!" Rocket blurted, immediately covering his mouth in regret.

"Rocket!" the green assassin hissed as Peter shouted, "Dude!"

Dey sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Why did you stab him in the ass?"

"He had set Quill on fire!" Drax said, sticking up for his friend.

"He kinda deserved a knife in the ass." Rocket grumbled in agreement.

"I am Groot." their tree friend inputted. The two Nova Corps officials stared at Groot in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Nova Prime asked. Peter sighed. He and the others had begun to understand their tree friend's weird language but others still only heard the same three words when he spoke.

"He says he agrees." he translated.

"Thank you, Groot." Gamora smiled. The two officials sighed in frustration, putting their heads in their hands in defeat.

"The means in which you completed this mission doesn't matter. Congratulations on a job well done." Nova Prime forced through gritted teeth as she rose to her feet. Gesturing to Dey, she continued, "Denarian Dey will-"

Her voice was cut off by a thunderous explosion. The building shook as the walls and foundation cracked. Everyone was thrown off their feet as smoke filled the room. Sounds of screaming and several smaller explosions filled the air. Peter's ears were ringing as he propped himself up on an elbow. Looking at his team, he asked, "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah." They mumbled back. Peter groaned as he rose to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" Rocket shouted from where he was huddled by Groot's feet.

"I do not know but I intend to find out." Drax commented, helping Nova Prime to stand. Gamora rose stoically to her feet, brushing herself off and looking up at the ceiling. She saw the cracks spreading at a fast rate. Dread filled her stomach.

"This building is about to collapse. We have to move." She told them urgently. Before they could even turn towards the exit, the ceiling began to tumble down around them. Peter watched in horror as a large chunk of concrete fell down towards Dey.

"Dey, watch out!" the Terran shouted, running to the man. Peter barely managed to push the man out of the way and away from danger. They all rushed out of the building, dodging pieces of falling concrete as they ran. It wasn't until they made it outside that they realized that they were missing someone. It was Groot who noticed it first.

"I am Groot?" His deep voice asked, filling the others with concern. Their heads twisted back and forth as their eyes searched for the missing Star Lord.

"He pushed me out of the way." Dey mumbled, guilt on his face as he put two and two together. They all stared at the demolished building that was barely standing.

"No." Gamora whispered as panic washed over her like a crushing wave. She started toward the building only to be stopped by Drax's firm grip on her arm.

"Gamora, the building will collapse any second." He tried to reason with her. She glared at the man. She knew that he was right but there was no way she was going to let Peter die.

"I am not leaving him." she spat out, jerking herself free from his grip. She sprinted back toward the building, soon followed by the rest of her comrades.

Peter woke with a pain in his head and a crushing force on his chest. With a groan, he peeled his eyes open to take in the destruction around him. Smoke and dust filled the air, choking him. Coughs rattled his body as he tried to sit up, only to find that he was pinned under a large slab of stone. It weighed down heavily on his chest, slowly crushing the life out of him.

He was shocked to find that the building was still standing but he guessed that it was only a matter of time before it finally collapsed on him. He hoped that the others had made it out and he hoped that they wouldn't come back for him. It was too dangerous. He was perfectly okay with dying but he would never forgive himself if his friends died along with him, because of him.

He pushed against the slab of rock that held him down in attempt to free himself but it didn't budge. If anything it only weighed down heavier on him, making it harder and harder to breathe. His desperate gasps for breath became strangled as the smoke and dust further smothered him. The world began to fade away as he felt consciousness leaving him. He desperately tried to cling onto reality. He couldnt help but wonder if this was how his mother felt when she died.

"Quill!" shouted a distant voice. Great now he was hearing things, just what he needed. But the voice grew louder. "Peter!"

"Gamora." He whispered to himself, recognizing who it was. They had come back for him. With the little energy he had left, he raised his hand up as far as he could and cried out in a strangled yell, "Help."

"Peter?" Gamora perked, barely hearing him. She spun her head toward the source of the sound and nearly cried with relief when she saw a dirty and bleeding hand raised in the air. "I found him!"

They ran toward their fallen friend. Gamora crouched by his head, stroking the stray locks of his light brown hair out of his face. His barely opened eyes locked onto hers as he whispered, "You came back."

"Of course." Gamora smiled down at him, taking his hand in hers as Drax and Groot worked on lifting the slab of concrete off of him. Her strong grip gave him reassurance and comfort as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

They had taken Peter to the nearest hospital where he had a speedy recovery. His friends had stayed by his side during his entire stay, making sure he stayed in bed when he tried to sneak off. Dey and his wife and daughter had stopped by to thank him personally. Peter was glad that the Nova official was okay. In a weird way Peter thought of Dey as a friend. A friend who just so happened to have arrested him on several occasions, but a friend never the less. And Peter always protected his friends.