Rocket knew something was up. It had been a few days since the battle with the High Revolutionary. Mantis and Peter were wrapping up their affairs before leaving for solo adventures. Gamora had already returned to the ravagers.
Rocket was confused by the guardian's new attitude toward him. Peter's hugs became more frequent and longer. Groot clung to him more. Mantis always asked about his dreams and if he wanted her to use her powers to make him feel better. Even Drax, the most honest man Rocket knew, was different. He had started to say things before, but Mantis hit him on the arm. That almost caused a fight. "Punches on the arm mean shut up," Rocket later heard Mantis explaining.
Rocket walked into Knowhere's bar. Nebula was there, and she was alone. Rocket felt relieved. She was the only one he felt was honest with him. After Thanos, they had been through so much together during those five years. Rocket took a seat beside Nebula.
"Want a drink?" Nebula asked.
"I want to avoid the pity party," Rocket responded. "Everyone is treating me like I'm glass. I have no clue why. I know I died there for a minute, but so did Quill. No one is acting differently towards him."
"Do you want to know the truth?" Nebula asked.
"Please," Rocket said.
"They saw the video," Nebula said.
"What video?" Rocket asked.
"We had to get your file to save you," Nebula explained. "In your file, we saw a video of you getting tortured by the High Revolutionary."
Rocket felt his heart stop. "So, that's why everyone is acting different?" he asked. "Because they all see me as a freak. They saw how I was torn apart and sewn back together again."
"No one thinks you're a freak," Nebula said. "They had never seen pain like that before. It was worse than what I went through with Thanos. They don't see you as fragile. They saw a look into your past that they were taken aback by."
Rocket let out a sigh. "No one thinks about you differently," Nebula promised.
"I never wanted you guys to see the extent of what happened," Rocket said. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"I'm sorry you had to live through that," Nebula responded. "I'm not sorry about seeing that. It brought us closer to saving your life."
"Thanks for being honest," Rocket said.
"Us experiments have to stay together," Nebula responded. "Captian Rocket."
"Captian Rocket Racoon," Rocket added.