WHAT IF . . . ?

"Rocket & Groot & Lylla & Floor & Teefs"

Or

Rocket's Friends Survived and Had Adventures with Him and Groot

Part Four: The Space Race

Rocket and his friends landed their old ship at the massive space station in orbit around a large red planet. Many other ships were docked there as well, and the sound of last-minute adjustments and hurried voices could be heard as well.

The back door of the ship opened, and out came the group of five. As usual, anyone not named Groot was wearing their orange space jumpsuits. They'd been wearing them for quite some time, beginning not long after they had first met Groot. This time, however, each member of the crew had a special patch emblazoned on their chests. On the patch was a symbol that depicted the flames of a rocket engine, with the silhouette of a spaceship within.

Rocket grinned and said to his teammates, "Alright! Team Rocket is ready to win the Nebulaton 500!"

"I am Groot," Groot said as he fiddled with the badge clipped to his own bare bark chest.

Rocket shrugged and said, "What? We had to call ourselves something on the entry form. And doesn't 'rocket' just fit the idea of racing and going fast?"

"I like Team Rocket!" Floor said giddily, "Sounds like we blast off at speed of light!"

"You know," Lylla remarked as she smoothed her own orange tunic and admired her own team patch, "I don't think I ever said how much I like these tunics."

Rocket winked and said, "Custom made and worth ever credit!"

Teefs, meanwhile, was looking nervously at the other ships. "We sure got a lot of competition here. I sure hope we can win."

Rocket laughed cockily and said, "Yeah right. These chumps got nothing on us. Who got possibly beat me? The greatest pilot in the galaxy?"

Suddenly, the sound of screaming fangirls could be heard. Everyone turned to see a large adoring crowd gathered around a teal ship with four wings. As the group cheered and screamed, the pilot pushed his way through, waving at the fans and signing the occasional autograph. Rocket's group were all amazed when they got a good look at the apparently famous pilot.

He was, to put it bluntly, a rabbit. His fur was blue, and his big ears were pink inside with several tears and scars in them. The top of the rabbit's head and face were covered in a metal helmet, and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of red goggles. He wore a brown flight suit with a pair of teal pants, and he walked upon a pair of skinny metal prosthetic rabbit legs.

Clasping her own metal hands together, Lylla said in amazement, "He's. . .just like us. . ."

The mysterious rabbit turned his head and looked towards the group. His red eyes met Rocket's eyes, and something appeared to flash within those red goggles. Then, the rabbit moved his gaze over to Lylla. A smile spread across the rabbit's face, and he walked over to them.

Floor skittered her way into the rabbit's path and said, "Hi, hi, hi! You're a bunny! I'm a bunny too! Hello!"

The blue rabbit looked down at Floor, taking in her many legs and metal jaws. He looked at her in disgust and stepped over her as he made his way over to Lylla. Once he was close to the otter, he grinned toothily and said, "Hey there, babe. Name's Blackjack O'Hare. Greatest racer in the galaxy." Blackjack then placed a furry blue paw on Lylla's shoulder and said, "How about after the race, I take you for a quick spin around this solar system."

Surprised and confused, Lylla stepped back from him and asked, "I beg your pardon?"

Blackjack chuckled and put his paw back on Lylla's shoulder. "C'mon, toots. Don't you want a little more excitement? More than these losers could provi- OW!"

Rocket had sprung into action and grabbed the wrist of Blackjack's offending paw. He twisted the rabbit's wrist and said, "Hey! Hands off the lady, you creep!"

Blackjack scowled and pulled his paw free. "You filthy stripe-tailed vermin! Did you not hear me? I am Blackjack O'Hare! Do you have any idea how many times I've won this race, and other races! Not to mention the number of clients who will pay through the nose for my mercenary services! How ignorant and crued can you be?!" He then turned back to Lylla and said in a much calmer tone of voice, "You poor thing. How long have you been stuck with this guy? Not to mention all these other freaks."

"Heeeeyyyy. . ." Teefs said sadly.

Blackjack smiled again and held out his paw to Lylla. "C'mon, sweet cheeks. . . Come with me, and I'll show you a whole new universe."

Rocket looked like he was about to explode. "Why you-!?" he snarled.

"Ahem! Rocket. . ." Lylla suddenly said, holding up a metal arm for him to stop as she smiled calmly.

Rocket looked at her questioningly, but kept silent.

Lylla then turned back to the grinning Blackjack O'Hare. She smiled in return and said, "You're not a very nice person, Mr. O'Hare. In fact, you are easily one of the rudest, disrespectful, most arrogant creatures I have ever met. You've touched me twice, you've insulted my friends, and you've shown no shame whatsoever. Either apologize or go away. Now."

Blackjack's smile fell further and further with every word that came out of Lylla's mouth. Then he scowled and said, "You've just made a terrible mistake, girl. Just. You. Wait."

He then spun on his metal heels and walked back to his ship.

Floor looked visibly upset as she whined, "Why that guy so mean?"

Lylla shook her head and said, "I don't know. But it really is sad. He looked so much like us. Almost like he was made by. . .him."

There was a silent, tense moment amongst the group.

". . .I never saw anyone like him in the lab," Rocket remarked, "I got taken around to see a bunch of the rooms, but I guess I didn't see everything, so who knows. Maybe he escaped from there too. . .somehow."

"So why was other bunny so mean? Other bunny just like us!" Floor asked again.

Rocket frowned and said, "Don't think too much about it, Floor. Some people just don't care about friendship. His loss." Rocket clenched his fists and said, "Speaking of loss, he is so going to lose this race! Oh, I am going to love beating this guy!"

"I am Groot."

"Hear, hear!" Rocket said with a smirk.

The team worked together to get their ship ready to race. Groot and Teefs carried out all of the cargo to reduce the ship's weight, Floor climbed up on top of the ship to hook up some wires to the gadgets Rocket at built, while Rocket himself was putting the finishing touches on a new control panel he had put together using the parts from a video game console he had salvaged.

"Are you sure all those gadgets are okay?" Lylla asked nervously.

"I checked the rules, and there's no rule against gadgets. This race is a test of speed, strategy, and technical genius! Meaning, I can't lose!" Rocket said as he slid out from underneath the control panel.

Floor came back inside the ship and announced, "Wires connected!"

Rocket powered up his new control panel and smiled when all the lights turned on. "Oh yeah. That's right. All systems go. Thanks, Floor."

Teefs rolled in and said, "The race is gonna start soon!"

Rocket nodded, "Right! Ya all better get out in the stands."

"Floor wants to race with Rocket!" the bunny pleaded.

"I am Groot," Groot said gently as he laid a hand on Floor's back.

Rocket nodded and said, "Yeah, I gotta keep this ship as light as possible. But ya can help by cheering me on as loudly as ya can." Rocket knelt down so he was closer to the cyborg bunny and asked, "Think ya can do that for me?"

Floor nodded, antennae sticking up, and said, "Yes! Floor cheer real loud for Rocket!"

Lylla gave Rocket a quick hug and said, "We all believe in you, Rocket. We know you'll do your very best. You're a great pilot and will show everyone how fast you can go."

"I'll be happy as long as you beat that O'Hare guy!" Teefs said.

"Oh don't worry," Rocket said confidently, "I will. Believe me, I will. That prize money is all ours."

Rocket's friends were all seated amongst the many other spectators of nearly every species imaginable. A long line of ships were hovering above a winding race track made of hard light. Horns blared, signaling that the race was about to start.

A small floating announcer robot with one eye and a mechanical arm holding a microphone floated above the racers as it spoke to the crowd. "A massive turnout here with racers from all over the galaxy competing in this year's Nebulaton 500! Will returning champion, Blackjack O'Hare, once again take home the prize of 500,000 credits?!"

Inside his ship, Rocket looked down at the control panel that controlled his gadgets.

"Alright. . .Got my game tricks. . .That O'Hare doesn't stand a chance!" Rocket said as he grabbed the steering wheel and put one hand on his newly added turbo boost button.

"On your marks. . ."

Blackjack and Rocket's eyes flashed with determination.

"Get set. . ."

Rocket's friends all leaned forward in anticipation.

"GO!"

Rocket hit the button and instantly blasted past all of the other racers, leaving them in his space dust as he took a massive early lead.

Rocket whooped and cheered, laughing as he relished in the fact that his superior mechanical genius had easily outdone his competition. However, this high quickly faded when he saw Blackjack O'Hare's ship quickly catch up to him.

"I hate that guy!" Rocket hissed as he shot the other ship a death glare.

Blackjack laughed wickedly as he used his own turbo boost to pass by Rocket.

Rocket licked his finger and pushed the first switch on his new control panel. "How 'bout this," he said as he activated the 'Claw of Fear.'

Out the back of Rocket's ship, a huge robotic claw reached out and grabbed Blackjack's ship, hurling it backwards and letting Rocket take the lead again.

"Ooh, and it looked like Rocket is the first to open up his bag of tricks, stealing back the lead from Blackjack!" the announcer declared.

"YAY! ROCKET!" Floor exclaimed.

"Wait! Look!" Teefs shouted worriedly.

With a flash of light, a claw made of pure energy came out of Blackjack's ship and grabbed Rocket's ship, hurling it even further back.

"I am Groot!" Groot shouted nervously.

"Don't worry!" Lylla said with certainty, "Rocket can out fly that smartmouth! That O'Hare doesn't know who he's dealing with!"

Rocket growled and activated his 'Ray of Doom.' It was a large beam weapon that came out of a hatch on the back of the ship. It launched an energy blast directly at Blackjack, but the energy claw simply swung and backhanded the blast back at Rocket. Rocket had to swerve to the left to avoid his own attack, but the move resulted in him flying right off of the track.

"OH! It looks like Rocket's attack has backfired! Is he out of the race!?" the announcer bot asked.

"OH NO!" Floor shouted in despair.

"I can't look!" Teefs shouted as he closed his eyes.

"Wait! It's okay!" Lylla shouted as she pointed.

The four friends all saw to their amazement as Rocket flipped his ship upside down and flew underneath the track. Then he flipped around back to the top and right in front of Blackjack.

"I AM GROOT!" Groot cheered.

Blackjack couldn't believe it when Rocket was suddenly ahead of him. That disbelief increased when a huge saw blade was launched out the back of Rocket's ship, straight at him. The massive blade sliced right through, bisecting the craft in two.

"And Rocket scores a decisive blow on Blackjack O'Hare! It seems the champion is- wait? What's going on here? It seems it's not over yet!" the announcer bot declared.

Indeed, the energy claw reappeared once again and wrapped around the ship, welding the two halves back together and activating nanobots to repair the damage.

Blackjack sneered and said, "Fine then! If that's the way you want it, THEN NO MERCY!"

Blackjack activated every booster on his ship, sending his engines into overload. He rammed into the back of Rocket's ship at full force, the blow causing both ships to spin out and bounce along the hard light race track.

"And we have collision ladies and gentlemen! Both ships are down!" the announcer bot exclaimed.

"I knew I shouldn't have looked!" Teefs shouted with panicked wide eyes.

The group watched as both ships slid to a halt, and both hatches popped open. Now two figures were flying in jetpacks towards the finish line.

"Rocket okay! Rocket will win!" Floor shouted.

"Keep it up! You can do it, Rocket! I know you can!" Lylla shouted.

"I AM GROOT!"

Rocket and Blackjack elbowed and kicked at each other as they both flew towards the finish line. They were neck, both straining to get across, the crowd roaring in their ears, until finally, with a flash, they both crossed the finish line.

"It's a photo finish, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcement declared, "Let's check to see who this year's winner is!"

A large holographic screen appeared, revealing the photo of the pair flying over the finish line from above. It zoomed in, and revealed to the crowd that Rocket's nose was clearly over the finish line ahead of Blackjack.

"And it's decided! The winner by a nose is RRRRRRRRRRRROCKET!"

The entire crowd exploded in cheers. Even fans of Blackjack couldn't help but applaud at the action packed spectacle they had seen, courtesy of Rocket and his grit, determination, flight skills, and mechanical genius.

"YAAAAAAAAAY! HE WON! HE WON! HE WON! HE WON!" Floor screamed as she hopped up and down in joy.

Teefs just let out the deep breath he was holding and nearly melted in relief.

"I knew it! I knew he would win! I knew it!" Lylla shouted gleefully.

"I AM GROOT! I AM GROOOOOOOT!"

Team Rocket stood proudly at the winner's circle as Rocket was presented with the golden trophy cup, which was as big as he was. He hoisted it up above his head briefly, but nearly fell over doing it. Luckily, Lylla was there to catch him, and Floor was there to steady the cup. Then Teefs and Groot hoisted everyone up onto their shoulders, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers once again.

Later on, back in their now docked ship, Rocket fastened the trophy in a prominent place on the wall of the ship and sighed.

"There. . . Look at that! Oh man, victory sure is sweet, ain't it!" Rocket said with the biggest of grins.

Teefs nodded and said, "Uh-huh! And only two million more credits left to go! We're already a third of the way there!"

"I am Groot. . ." Groot said with a tone of worry.

Lylla nodded, "Yes, Groot. The crash did bang the ship up quite a lot."

Rocket waved it off and said, "Eh, no biggie. I'll just patch it up a bit, and we'll be off. No problems."

"I don't think so, ringtail!"

Everyone turned to see that standing past the threshold of the open rear door was Blackjack O'Hare, with a lazer shotgun pointed directly at Rocket.

"Really?" Rocket said, reacting to the threat on his life with anger rather than fear, "You're that much of a sore loser that you're gonna shoot me? That's pathetic! But fine, take the trophy if you want it so much!"

Blackjack sneered and said, "Oh, it's not the trophy that I want."

Rocket narrowed his eyes and said, "Well then, what is it?"

Blackjack's sneer turned into a malicious grin and he said with a smile in his voice, "Why, obviously, it's your brain, of course, 8-9-P-1-3."

An eerie, palpable, oppressive silence permeated the entire ship.

Rocket's bravado was extinguished as he stared at Blackjack in fear. "He's found us," Rocket said softly.

Blackjack chuckled darkly and shook his head. "Not exactly. Let me explain. You see, I was created to be one of many super-soldiers who would defend Counter-Earth from all those who would dare disrupt its perfection. A perfection built in my master's glorious image. . ."

Blackjack's smile faded and he said with a scowl, "Ironically, perfection was the very thing I was lacking in. I only lived up to some of my master's expectations. So, I was given a low rank and forced to serve under the likes of. . .Warpig! Blech! So, I decided to leave. To go rogue. To prove to my master what I was truly capable of. I wasn't exactly sure how to do it, but then I heard rumors about you freaks. Everyone knows about the Great Escape of Batch 89. About what you did to my master! And that's when I realized: if I captured you and brought you back, then my master would show his gratitude and approval by making me commander of the entire army!"

Blackjack smiled again and said, "So, no, he doesn't know where you are. He can't know. Because if he did, then he'd send some of his other creations after you, and I would lose the credit. But I suppose that doesn't really matter now, because I have found you, and I will get the recognition I deserve!"

After hearing this, Rocket actually seemed to perk back up again. He laughed hollowly and said, "Hah! Ya don't get it, do ya. The High Evolutionary doesn't care about anyone but himself. Ya think he'll reward ya if ya bring me back. Yeah right! He'll just kill ya for running off in the first place, just like he tried to kill all of us."

"Of course he wanted to dispose of all of you!" Blackjack said as he used his left hand to motion to the others, minus Groot, "You're all just a bunch of failed experiments! Twisted freaks with no purpose and no usefulness, no matter how hard you lie to yourselves about it. But me? I'm a lean, mean, killing machine! I just had a few kinks that made him a bit unsure, but bringing you back will finally prove-."

"Blackjack, stop!" Lylla shouted as she stepped forward.

"Lylla, be careful!" Rocket cried out, suddenly becoming fearful.

Lylla turned to Rocket and smiled warmly. "Rocket. . .I can do this. . ."

The pair's eyes met, and Rocket's concern died down slightly.

Lylla then turned to the gun wielding mercenary and said, "Blackjack, I know you're angry and feel undervalued. . .but you're making a terrible mistake. Rocket's right. The High Evolutionary does not care about us. If something displeases him, he destroys it. If someone upsets him, he kills them. He kept you around just because he felt like you could be of some use to him. But if you left without his permission, he won't be happy to see you. He'll kill you and Rocket. He might even shoot you in the back. . .like he nearly did to me. . ."

Lylla paused a moment, then gathered her emotions and said with a pleading look in her eye, "Blackjack. . . you're just like us. I know you think we're. . .failed experiments. . . but you need to look past that. After Rocket helped us escape and took us to see the sky and the stars, we've seen and experienced so many things together."

Lylla became misty eyed, and Blackjack cocked his head at her in curiosity.

"We are a family," Lylla continued, "We looked out for each other and cared for each other. And you can be a part of it. You don't need him. You can come with us. We can all explore the universe and right every wrong and see as much as we can see. Just trust us, and we can show you how good it is to have frien-."

BLAM!

Lylla was thrown backwards into the wall, her orange tunic scorched from where the shot from Blackjack's shotgun struck her.

Blackjack shrugged and said, "Nothing personal. I just had to shut you up."

Rocket let out a bloodcurdling war cry as he threw himself at Blackjack. Rocket had pounced so fast that Blackjack had no time to react. He dropped the shotgun as Rocket slashed his flight suit and pants with his claws. The pair rolled around a bit, trading blows, until Blackjack landed a kick with his hard metal legs in Rocket's stomach and sent him flying.

Blackjack stood up, only to cry out in pain when Floor pounced on his back and stabbed him in the rear with her metal legs. He reached behind him, grabbed one of her legs, and flung her off of him.

"I AM GROOT!" Groot roared as he grew his arms out and wrapped them around Blackjack. He lifted him up and was about to slam him into the ground when Blackjack managed to reach a plasma dagger in his pocket. He activated it, and he used the glowing red blade to cut the vines wrapped around him.

As Groot fell backwards in pain, Teefs rolled in bravely with the intention of bowling Blackjack over. Blackjack simply jumped up high and tumbled in midair, kicking Teefs in the head and sending him rolling into the wall.

Blackjack landed and turned to see Rocket, still lying on the ground and trying to catch his breath after being kicked in the stomach. Blackjack walked over to him and stomped his right leg onto Rocket's neck, pressing just hard enough to keep him from moving.

He held the plasma dagger out so Rocket could see it and said with a cruel smirk. "Now. . .let's see how you like losing your face!"

CLUNK!

Blackjack fell sideways and lay still, and Lylla stood over him with a clenched metal fist still raised. She smiled down at Rocket and said, "You really did a good job on my new arms, Rocket!"

Rocket could only stare at Lylla in wide eyed, opened mouthed awe.

Lylla blinked, confused by Rocket's state. "Rocket? Are you al-?"

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Rocket shouted as he jumped up and hugged Lylla the tightest he ever had in his entire life. The pair actually spun around once before settling down.

"Of course, Rocket. You're the one who got me this," Lylla said, and she reached in between them to unbutton her scorched tunic, revealing the Vibranium vest underneath.

Rocket's eyes widened as he finally remembered having the article of protective clothing made for her several years ago. He'd been having a string of nightmares in which his escape plan had gone horribly wrong, and thus saved up a large amount of credits to have the vest made for Lylla. Vibranium wasn't cheap, but it was a quite small bit of lightweight body armor, so it wasn't that bad. Lylla had actually felt funny about her getting special treatment before the others, but Rocket had offered it to her while the others were asleep and had begged her to always wear it. Lylla could see how nervous and desperate he was, and it was very light and comfortable anyway, so Lylla accepted it. Clearly it was the correct choice.

Teefs rolled over and said, "Whew! Well, that was terrible. I can't believe he did that!"

"I am Groot," Groot said as he wrung his regrown hands, wincing from how sore his wrists were from being pruned.

Much like Teefs, Floor was pretty much unharmed, and she walked over and said, "What we do with bad guy?"

Rocket frowned and drew his gun, but Lylla pushed it back down and said, "No. We can't stoop to his level."

Rocket took one look at Lylla's solemn expression and sighed, "Okay then. . .well, how about. . ."

When Blackjack woke up, he found himself in a cramped enclosed space and tied up in a length of wire. There was a window in front of him, and he could see Rocket and his friends all staring at him with various levels of disapproval. Rocket pressed a button on the outside, and before Blackjack even knew what was happening, he felt himself get launched straight up and into space. Blackjack O'Hare cried out in rage as the jettison pod he was shot out into the stars and far, far away.

End of part four. . .