"Crimson Red has failed me." Thanos commented while he sat comfortably on his throne.
Nebula rolled her eyes in boredom. "She was always so full of herself." She said as she cleaned her newly acquired gun. "It doesn't surprise me that she ended up being killed by a simple Terran."
"Half-Terran, dear Nebula. A hybrid that can control the Infinity Stones."
"Whatever, dad…"
"You don't seem to understand. This half-human has a unique ability that has been passed down to his daughter." He growled. "I specifically told Crimson Red that I wanted them both alive. But she decided to go against my orders and mind control Peter Quill and order him to almost kill the baby just to fulfill her own vengeful desires. Unlike Loki, she had potential, but she was too consumed in her on wishes, like him. Look at where her disobedience got her."
"Squashed by the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Big deal..." Nebula sighed. "So, what you gonna do now, father?"
"All in its right time, Nebula. All in its right time. All we have to do now, is wait for the baby to grow and for Peter Quill to acquire more experience with this power."
OOO
Peter slowly opened his eyes to a bright white light. Was he… dying?
"Clear!" A voice echoed through his head.
He took a step forward, but someone touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw someone he never thought he will see again.
"Mom?"
Meredith Quill smiled at him. "Yes, darling. It's me, mommy."
"Clear!" The voice echoed again.
"Listen carefully, you don't have much time." She touched his cheek. "You must go back and be with your baby girl and with your friends. There's still too much for you to do. It's not your time yet."
"Will I see you again?" He felt a tear falling down his cheek.
"Someday. But not so soon. I love you, my little Star-Lord."
"Clear!"
Then, he was back to the living world.
OOO
His eyes opened a little bit and saw a blinding white light. Was he dying? Again?
Oh, fuck no. He had a life. He had to get back to Gamora and Lotus and pull that kitty cat prank on Rocket he always wanted to do. He had promised Groot he will plant a tree in a deserted planet… It was Groot's dream…
"He's waking up. Thank goodness…" Someone mumbled. It sounded like Gamora.
"Yeah, let him be up so I can break his ribs. Asshole… This jackass gave me quite the scare…" Definitely Rocket.
Peter took a small breath. His chest hurt like hell. It must be all those kicks and punches Crimson did to him. She did quite the number. He fully opened his eyes and saw Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax leaning over him. He looked at them one by one.
"Did… did I won?"
They slowly nodded. Peter saw that Gamora had a bandage around her forehead. Drax had a cast on his right arm and Rocket was holding on to his ribcage. He probably had his ribs broken. Groot… well, he was fine. He looked around. He seemed to be back at Nova Corps headquarters. And he was in a hospital room in a fucking hospital bed. "Where's Lotus?" He asked as he slowly sat down.
Gamora looked behind her. Peter looked behind her and saw that Yondu was sitting in a chair with Lotus on his lap. Playing peek-a-boo. They all stared in disbelief for a few more minutes before Yondu noticed them. He cleared his throat awkwardly as he got up and handed Lotus over to Peter.
"Don't judge me, ok? Not a word of this to anyone." He stuffed his hands on his pockets and looked around the room, trying to avoid the stares.
Peter smiled. "I won't make any promises." He turned his head towards Lotus. "I'm glad you are safe, baby girl."
"Dada!" Lotus shouted happily. Peter chuckled and planted a soft kiss on the baby's forehead. Lotus turned her head around and faced Yondu. "Pop! Pop!"
Yondu blushed in embarrassment. Peter and the guardians laughed. Yondu rolled his eyes and walked towards the door. Peter followed him with his gaze. "Hey, where are you going? She just called you Pop!"
Yondu pointed his middle finger at him. "Believe it or not, I got stuff to do." He looked back at the baby. "You might call once in a while too. You know, this whole… 'Pop' thing. See ya' later." And Yondu left.
Peter shook his head. He turned to face his teammates. He hugged Lotus, making sure this was not a dream and that she was safe with him. "What happened?"
Rocket cleared his throat. "Well, aside from kicking me on the chest, defeating Crimson Bitch and almost died… yeah, nothing much has happened."
"I blacked out after I defeated Crimson. Why did I blacked out? Where's the Orb?"
"Peter, calm down."
"I am Groot." Groot agreed with Gamora.
"The Orb is under Nova Corps' custody in a safe vault where no one knows where it is. You blacked out because of tiredness and you almost died because you accidentally let go of the Infinity Stone while you were in space. We took you back to Xandar to treat you. You scared us, Peter…"
Peter looked down. "Because I was about to die, or the fact that I almost killed you?"
Gamora's gaze saddened. "Peter, it is not your fault."
"Friend Gamora is right. You were under the spell of the red witch." Drax commented.
Peter shook his head. "That doesn't change the fact that I-"
"Oh for the love of…" Rocket growled. "You're a fucking hero, you asshole. Stop blaming yourself because it was not you who tried to kill us. It was scary, yeah, but all the blame goes down to you know who, so stop it."
Peter smiled. "Thanks guys."
"By the way…" Rocket continued. "Did you know that your daughter can make force fields?"
Peter's smile dropped. "What the f-"
The doors burst open and Nova Prime entered the room along Corpsman Dey. And she was holding a toddler boy of about two years. He had snowy white hair like Nova's and had dazzling blue eyes. Nova and Dey smiled down at Peter and the guardians.
"Congratulations. You just saved the galaxy and defeated Crimson Red."
"Correction: Crimson Bitch." Rocket commented.
Nova frowned. "Will you please speak properly, Mr. Raccoon? There are children in the room."
Peter turned to Rocket. "Yeah, man. Show some respect."
Rocket rolled his eyes. "Looks who's talking."
Peter just glared and turned back to Nova. "Who's that?" He asked, motioning at the toddler in Nova's arms.
Nova smiled. "If I remember correctly, I mentioned my grandson before. This is Polaris, my grandson. His name is the North Star's real name from Terra's orbit."
"Wait, your grandson was named after a star from Terra? Awesome!" Peter in his excitement. "But wait, isn't Polaris a girl's name?"
Nova frowned. "It's a unisex name. Anyway, that is not why I came here. I can here to thank you personally for defeating Crimson and saving everyone else." Her smile faded with her next words. "I was told you were mind controlled."
Peter looked down at his daughter's pigtails. He really didn't want to talk about that. Nova noticed his discomfort and decided to leave it there. "I'll be waiting for you in the conference room."
Nova turned to leave and Polaris looked over his grandmother's shoulder and saw a baby with pink eyes. The baby looked back at him and smiled. Polaris raised an eye brow at the baby. She was… strange. In a good way.
"By the way, Mr. Quill…" Nova half turned to face Peter one last time. She frowned. "Will you please tell Yondu Udonta to stop flirting with me?"
Now Peter was traumatized for life.
OOO
After being congratulated even more by more officials, getting some pats on the back and filling the report for Nova, Peter and the guardians finally took the Milano, surprisingly stuffed with supplies, and flew away into space. All they wanted to do was to goof around and get some well-deserved rest. After landing on another, but peaceful planet, they secured the ship and went to bed. All except Peter.
He put the sleeping little Lotus on her crib and planted a small kiss on her forehead. Later, he put on his pajamas and sat on his bed, awaiting for sleep to take over him. But after an hour, sleep never came. He sighed as he got up and walked outside his room towards the deck. Once in there, he sat on the captain's chair and looked at the stars. Something Gamora did often and now he understood why. It was… comforting in some way. He took a deep breath and covered his face with his hands. It has been a LONG freaking week and he couldn't even get some sleep!
"Peter? Are you alright?"
Peter turned around and saw Gamora standing over the stairs in her PJs, a concerning look on her face. Peter started to sob uncontrollably. He hadn't even noticed he was sobbing! Hot tears started to wet his cheeks. He quickly dried them away and covered his face again, but the tears kept on coming. He really didn't want to show this weakness to anyone. Especially Gamora.
Gamora stood beside him and placed a caring hand on Peter's shoulder. "Peter, you must understand that-"
"That it was not my fault?" His voice cracked. "I almost killed you… I almost killed all of you… I almost killed Lotus…"
"But she's fine. We are ALL fine thanks to you, Peter. You saved the entire galaxy and defeated Crimson single handedly."
Peter looked at her, his eyes puffy and red.
"You are a hero. And not only to us, but to Lotus." She dried a fresh tear from Peter's face. "We love you, Peter. And we don't blame you. You didn't do anything except saving the galaxy. We are proud of you."
Peter hugged Gamora and buried his face in her stomach. "I love you… damn, I love you so much…" He sobbed.
"I love you too…"
None of them noticed Rocket watching them from the staircase. He was shirtless and his arm still grabbed his bandaged ribcage. He smiled fondly and nodded approvingly. Yep. Things will be fine.
OOO
Two months later…
"Happy birthday, baby girl!" Peter shouted as he took a picture of Lotus in front of her first birthday cake. She obviously didn't know what to do with it, so Gamora blew out the candle. The cake was adorned in white and pink shades. A few presents laid on the kitchen table, awaiting to be opened. Present time!
"Mine first!"
"No, mine!"
"Shut up!" Peter shouted. "Groot first. Why? Because he didn't really argued."
Rocket's ears switched backwards as he watched Groot approaching the now one year old girl with a pink party hat sitting on the floor with her favorite stuffed bunny beside her. Groot sat beside her with a small wooden box (he made it himself). Lotus watched as the giant tree opened the box since she couldn't do so. Groot took out of the box a small shovel for gardening. Lotus looked at it in amazement. Rocket and Drax chuckled at the 'lame' present. Gamora glared at them and hit them both on the head.
"It's a nice present. It's meant for a greater good."
Peter rolled his eyes at them. "Yeah. Show some respect."
Groot smiled proudly. Of course, he knew that a one year old couldn't start using a shovel, but hey, kids learn faster when they are younger!
Peter picked a present with a pink bow and red paper. He read out loud the name of the person. "Yondu? He send a gift? I never thought he will even remember Lotus' birthday. Oh well, let's see what he send."
Peter sat beside Lotus and opened the box. His eye twitched when he saw what it was inside.
"Peter? What's wrong?" Gamora asked.
Peter took out the gift and held it in the air. "I should tell Yondu that one year olds don't use guns. He's not doing a very good job as a granddad." He was holding a very polished silver gun with black lotus blossoms designs in each side. It had two shooting holes.
"Damn… That's one hell of a gun…" Rocket breathed out.
"She can't use guns! In fact, she's half the size of this gun!"
"I know. But you can teach her when she's older. For now, save that beauty for a while. It might even cost a fortune." Then the raccoon mumbled. "I want a gun like that for my birthday…"
"Or Yondu probably stole it…" Peter said as he grabbed a letter that came along with the gun. "Oh wait, it's not stolen." He read the letter out loud.
Dear assholes,
I send this gun that I bought with MY money to little Lotus for her birthday. No, I didn't stole it. I know babies don't use guns but she should start learning from a young age if she's being raised by a bunch of imbeciles. Anyway, I even paid EXTRA to get some lotus blossoms designs on it to make it more appealing and more feminine to her. DON'T sell it or I'll hunt you down.
Sincerely,
Yondu Udonta.
PS: It's an element gun. Much like yours, Peter! Like father, like daughter, right?
Peter rolled his eyes at the silly pun and put back the gun on the box. "That pretty much answers my doubts."
"Shit…"
"What's wrong, Drax?" Peter asked Drax.
Drax glared at the floor. "The bastard stole my idea of lotus blossoms designs."
Peter rolled his eyes again. "I think it was a little obvious, genius. With her name and all… Anyway, what did you get for Lotus?"
Drax smiled as he approached Peter and Lotus with a long rectangular black box. He opened the box and showed the gift to Peter. Peter's eye twitched again. "Really? Knives!? What's wrong with gifts today? Even Stan Lee send some comics a few weeks ago. I still don't know how he got our ship address."
Drax took out the two medium sized knives from the box. They were silver knives with black handles and lotus blossoms designs in the middle of the blade. "I got them from a Xandarian shop at a good prize. They don't sell knives with lotus blossoms designs so I paid a little extra to get them on too. Still at a good prize."
Peter face slapped. "They're great, but come on! It's a one year old we are talking about!"
Rocket stepped forward. "Then this is your lucky day, Peter! I got something any baby will like!"
"I never expected you of all people to give something a baby will like." Peter commented.
Rocket growled and opened the box. He took out a small stuffed raccoon doll, handed it over to Lotus and threw the box away. "There. It's done. Don't judge me, but I was out of money and this thing was on sale!"
"Rocket!" Lotus yelled as she hugged the stuffed raccoon doll, looking at her uncle.
Rocket felt himself smiling a little bit but quickly turn it into a growl. "Yeah, IT. Whatever…" So much for hiding his soft side…
"Next! Let's see what we got here… Oh! Nova Prime send something!" It was small white box with a pink bow and a happy birthday card. It was bunch of baby dresses and clothing. Finally, something normal aside from stuffed raccoons.
"My turn." Gamora walked forward and opened a blue box. Some pretty cute dolls that were age appropriate. Great job, Gamora!
"And the best goes last!" Peter took out a gold evolved small box with a green bow. He opened it and then… then…
"A Walkman!? You gave your baby a Walkman!? Fuck you, Quill!" Rocket shouted.
Peter glared at the raccoon. "Hey! I found them in an antiques shop in Xandar. They were on sale and look! The headphones are pink and it brought its own tape!" He said happily as he put on the headphones on Lotus little head.
Rocket face palmed. The Walkman played some old Michael Jackson songs but they were definitely way newer than Peter's music.
"Well, I guess that's it."
"I believe there is one more present left." Drax pointed at a lone present in the table's corner.
Peter raised an eye brow in curiosity as he reached for the last present it wasn't a box, the evolve felt like clothing. "That's strange. I don't remember anymore gifts…" He opened the black paper with now bow. He took a peek inside and his eyes widened. He screamed in shock as he let the gift fall carelessly on the floor.
"What's wrong!?" Gamora said as she stood up from her seat.
Peter breathed heavily, not looking away from the gift.
"Quill? You are scaring me…"
"I am Groot…"
Peter took a deep breath. "That bitch's still alive…"
"WHAT!? I don't believe you, asshole! Let me see!" Rocket approached the gift paper and picked it up. He opened and… a small piece of torn away red clothing was there. Rocket couldn't speak, and neither could his friends.
"But how…" Gamora started, but she didn't need to finish, for the same thought ran through everyone's mind.
After a death-like silent, Groot spoke up. "I am Groot." He stood up, a determinate look on his face.
"You're right, Friend Groot. We'll protect her." Drax stood up as well.
"Yeah, nobody is touching IT on my watch!"
"We'll protect her AND Peter. Both."
Peter smiled as he picked up Lotus from the floor. "Thanks guys…"
"So, we are setting course to find her?" Rocket asked.
"No." Peter answered. The team looked at him like if he was insane. "We won't spend our time looking for Crimson Red. She's probably too weak by now."
"And those who fail Thanos, won't ever have as much power as before." Gamora commented.
"So all we have to do is live our lives and IF Crimson does come around…" Peter smirked. "We'll kick her ass. Because we are the Guardians of the Galaxy."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Rocket yelled excitedly.
Peter smiled at his friends who were so willing to protect Lotus at any cost like he will do. Lotus snuggled at his neck and yawned. Peter smiled down at the one year old. They were more than friends. They were family. A family that included the most dangerous and the most feared jackasses of the galaxy. And that's why nobody messes with Peter's Little Girl… Of course, they must be completely out of their freaking minds to do so…
I want to give you all readers a special thanks for supporting this story. And I will proudly tell you that a sequel is coming soon! But before the sequel, I'll post a special short story of Rocket babysitting Lotus while the guardians are out, it's called 'Babysitter Rocket', but I won't spoil it for you! I'll probably post it in three to five days while I keep writing the sequel. Again, thank you everybody and I hope you get lots and lots of blessings!
-Sammy Heroes