I've had so much fan writing this crossover! Thank you all so much for your reviews and support. And stayed turned for the sequel, "Savin' The Galaxy Again"! :D

NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.

...child, things'll get brighter

Someday, yeah

We'll put it together and we'll get it undone

Someday when your head is much lighter

Mikey slowly opened his eyes and the first he saw was the clear blue sky. He could also hear some old song from the 70's playing. Was this Heaven?

He moved slightly and his body immediately ached all over.

Nope. He was still alive.

He groaned as he slowly sat up and looked at his surroundings. The Dark Aster had crashed in the middle of the city and was in ruins. A crowd of Xandarians had gathered around at the site of the crash, absolute shock on their faces.

Drax was lying on the ground, badly hurt but still alive, his left hand twitching. Next to him was Quill's tape deck, which was surprisingly still functional and even playing a song. Gamora moaned as she slowly and painfully got up. Quill was so hurt that he could hardly move. Rocket was crawling toward a pile of branches and picked up a twig.

Mikey's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly remembered Groot heroic sacrifice to save them all. He quickly got on his knees and frantically looked around for any sign of Groot. "Groot?! Groot, where are you?! Groot, answer me, please!"

"M-Mikey..." Said Turtle turned his head and Gamora was looking at him with sad eyes. "He's gone," she softly told him.

Mikey shook his head, tears burning his eyes. "No. No, he can't be gone. He can't be." He picked up two handfuls of twigs and pressed them against his face as he cried. "Groot...come back...come back...!"

"I called him an idiot," Rocket whispered in a pained, choked-up voice, gingerly holding the twig in his hand.

Groot was the most kindhearted, pure person Mikey had ever met, and even though their time together was short, he knew that he had made a lifelong friend in the tree creature.

And now his friend was gone forever.

He heard the people gasping and lifted his head to see them backing away with looks of horror on their faces. He slowly turned around and his blood boiled with unspeakable rage as he watched Ronan stepping from out of the wreckage unscathed.

He wanted to kill this guy, plain and simple.

Rocket breathed heavily as he stood up and faced Ronan, the fur on his tail sticking out and his ears back. "YOU KILLED GROOT!" he yelled in fury as he blindly charged at the Kree murderer.

Ronan merely scoffed and pushed Rocket away using the power of the Stone.

Mikey activated his kusarigama and his eyes became white as his inner killer took over. Roaring and spinning his blade, he leapt right at Ronan. But like with Rocket, Ronan used the Stone to throw him aside. Mikey crashed into a pile of debris, the impact causing his already injured shell to throb with unbearable pain.

"Behold! Your 'Guardians of the Galaxy'!" Ronan mockingly announced to the crowd. "What fruit have they wrought? Only that my father and his father shall finally know vengeance!"

Despite the pain that he was in, Mikey slowly got on his knees and grinned his kusarigama, glaring murderously at Ronan. "Vengeance?" he hissed. "I'll show you vengeance." He was about to charge at Ronan again with a strong hand grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Michelangelo," Drax quietly spoke to him. "That is not the way."

"I don't care!" Mikey yelled as he attempted to pull his arm away. "Let me go!"

Drax only tightened his grip. "No. I mean, that is not the way to avenge our friend." He nodded at Rocket, who was getting the Hadron Enforcer ready.

"But...we already tried that and it didn't work," Mikey whispered.

"We won't be aiming at him," Drax focused his eyes on the Stone that was embedded in Ronan's hammer. Mikey followed his gaze and immediately understood. Drax helped him onto his feet and they slowly made their way toward Rocket.

Meanwhile, Quill was distracting Ronan by dancing to the music that was playing on his track, much to the confusion of everyone else, especially Ronan. Any other time, Mikey would've found this to be hilarious, but he was too distraught over the death of Groot to even laugh and instead focused on helping Drax and Rocket with the Enforcer.

Ronan had finally lost his patience with Quill. "What are you doing?!" he yelled.

Quill smiled. "I'm distracting you, ya big turd blossom!"

The Hadron Enforcer clicked in Drax's hands as it was activated and Ronan whipped his head to them. Rocket quickly connected two cables and the Hadron fired, hitting Ronan's hammer and destroying it.

Everything happened so fast. The moment the Stone was freed, Quill took a big leap and reached for it. Ronan attempted to catch it before he did, but the human was too quick and he caught it first. As soon as Quill grabbed the Stone, the whole group, save for the crowd of Xandarians, was surrounded in a black cloud that swirled at an incredible speed and purple balls of fire shot everywhere.

The wind that whipped in Mikey's face burned his eyes and he had to shield them with his arms. But he could hear Quill screaming in pain, and that could only mean that the Stone was killing him.

Then he could hear Gamora screaming, "PETER! TAKE MY HAND! TAKE MY HAND!"

He opened his eyes slightly and saw Quill reaching for Gamora's hand. His face was actually peeling away and Mikey gasped in horror at the gruesome sight. Once he took Gamora's hand, some of the Stone's power was transferred to her. Gamora's skin started to crack and burn but she wouldn't let go of Quill's hand.

Mikey then saw Drax slowly making his way toward Quill and reached out to him. The muscular tattooed man slapped his hand on Quill's shoulder and he received some of the power.

Finally, Rocket stood up on a rock next to Drax and reached for his hand, though all he could manage to grab was Drax's finder. He threw his head back and screamed in agony as the power flowed into his small body.

Mikey remembered the Collector's words back on Knowhere, "Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves, but even they were quickly destroyed by it."

His brain was telling him not to go through with it since it had been done before and the end result was disastrous. Sharing the power of the Stone was suicide.

But his heart urged him to go help his new friends, even if meant his life. And as always, he followed his heart and fought against the wind to get to Rocket. He reached a hand out to the raccoon and touched him on the shoulder.

Energy burned in his veins as it flowed throughout his entire body, and his could feel his shell crack even further. He howled in pain and squeezed his eyes shut, but refused to let go, even it was slowly killing him.

Then he felt a warm hand grab his and he managed to slightly turn his head and open his eyes.

Groot was standing at his side and smiling down at him.

"...Groot...?" Mikey gasped.

Suddenly the pain began to fade away and the cracks in his shell closed up. He felt...amazing, empowered, like nothing in the entire universe could beat him. He squeezed both Rocket's shoulder and Groot's hand and faced Ronan with the other Guardians.

Ronan couldn't believe his eyes. "You're mortal! How?!"

"You said it yourself, bitch," Quill said as his face was restored and his eyes glowed purple. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Ronan roared as charged at the group, but then Quill opened up his left hand and released some energy which flowed into Ronan's body. It overwhelmed the Kree maniac and his body was quickly destroyed in a purple firefly explosion.

The winds died down and the black smoke cleared. Mikey released a trembling sigh as the energy left him and looked to his left, but Groot wasn't there. His hand was holding only air now. His eyes filled with tears and he let go of Rocket.

Quill quickly put the Stone in an orb as everyone recomposed themselves, and then Yondu and the other Ravagers pushed their way through the crowd.

Well, well, well," Yondu chuckled as he approached the Guardians. "Quite the light show. Ain't this sweet. But you got some business to attend to before all the nookie-nookie starts."

Mikey sighed and shook his head. Did that guy really have to do this now right after they lost Groot? "Dude, why can't you just leave us alone?"

"I'd be more than happy to. But first..." Yondu held his hand out. "...gimmie the Stone, boy."

Gamora shook her head and turned to Quill, "Peter, you can't," she softly begged him.

Quill took a couple of steps toward his former captain. "You gotta reconsider this, Yondu. I don't know who you're selling this to, but the only way the universe can survive is if you give it to the Nova Corps."

Yondu only sneered at him. "I may be as pretty as angel as an angel, but I sure as hell ain't one. Hand it over, son."

To Mikey's dismay, Quill reluctantly gave Yondu the orb. The blue man laughed in triumph as he turned to leave, but Quill stopped him.

"Yondu! Do not open that orb," he warned. "You know that, right? You've seen what it does to people."

Yondo smirked and chuckled before he continued on his way. Everyone watched as he and the Ravagers stepped into their ship and took off...with the Infinity Stone.

"'Pretty as an angel'?" Mikey grumbled. "More like as ugly as a mandrill's butt."

Suddenly Quill pulled out another orb from his jacket and smiled at Mikey and Gamora. "He's gonna be so pissed when he realizes I switched out the orb on him."

Mikey sighed in relief while Gamora chuckled weakly. "He was gonna kill you, Peter," she said.

Quill nodded. "Oh, I know. But he was about the only family I had."

Gamora gently touched his arm. "No," she told him with a warm smile. "He wasn't."

Mikey heard someone sobbing and turned to see Rocket sitting next to the pile of Groot's branches and holding a twig in his hands. He walked over there and sat down in the rubble next to him.

He wanted to hug Rocket, but he knew that the raccoon wasn't the touchy-feely type so he gave him his space and just sat there holding his legs close to his chest. Drax decided to join them and sat down on the other side of Rocket, sighing softly.

None of them said anything for a moment, but then Mikey croaked, "It's not fair."

This made Rocket cry even harder and he bowed his head. Mikey felt another fresh wave of tears coming and buried his face in his knees. The Turtle's shoulders shook as he started to cry again. Drax looked at both of them sympathetically and started to stroke the back of Rocket's head. The raccoon tensed and jerked his head up at the touch, but he quickly relaxed and allowed Drax to comfort him.

Mikey continued to weep until something came to mind. He lifted his head and dried his eyes. "Rocket...?" he sniffled.

Rocket wiped his black nose with his arm. "What?" he rasped.

"Whenever Groot lost an arm or leg, he would just grow it back, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well...what if he can grow back, you know, a whole new body?"

Drax looked at Mikey then at Rocket. "Is that possible?"

Rocket looked down at the twig in his hands in thought. The kid had a point. It may be wishful thinking, but still...

"This thing itches," Rocket grumbled as he, Drax, and Mikey walked down the halls of the Nova Corps headquarters. He was wearing a new blue outfit that Nova Corps provided him, and in his hands was a pot with a twig planted in it. "I hate it."

"Aw, come on, Rocket," Mikey smiled at him. "You look good in blue."

"As soon as we leave Xandar, I'm buying some new clothes." Rocket chuckled to himself. "Well, maybe not 'buy' but..."

Mikey looked at him disapprovingly. "Rocket..."

"I'm kiddin'!" Rocket laughed, but then he mumbled, "Maybe."

The four entered the main hall where Gamora, Quill, and Nova Prime all waited for them. Nova Prime smiled when she saw them.

"Your friends have arrived," she told Gamora and Quill. She folded her hands as she addressed the whole group. "On behalf of the Nova Corps, we'd like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar."

Mikey smiled with pride. If only his bros were here to see-

"HEY!"

Everyone turned to see Mikey's brothers running into the room, and Raph and Donnie were dragging the turtle thief who was now in cuffs. Mikey's eyes widened in shock and his jaw dropped.

Leo marched right up to Nova Prime. "There, see? We have the real thief! Now clear our brother of all charges because we won't go back to our planet without-!"

"Uh, Leo?"

The leader stopped talking when he heard Mikey's voice and turned around. His midnight blue eyes became large and he smiled big. "MIKEY!" He rushed to his youngest brother and wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.

Donnie and Raph pushed the thief into the arms of two Nova officers and joined in on the hug.

"Mikey! We were so worried about you, man!" Raph laughed as he rubbed his cheek against Mikey's.

"We heard you escaped from prison!" Donnie patted his shell. "Way to go!"

Mikey laughed as his brothers finally released him. "Well, I never would've gotten out if it weren't for these guys," he said as he pointed to the other Guardians. "Guys, this is Peter Quill. He's from Earth, too. He still listens to old school music with a Walkman, though. The big guy with the wicked tattoos is Drax. Don't use metaphors with him, though, 'cause he takes things literally. The lady is Gamora, a really cool and fierce warrior in a chick's body. The one who looks like a raccoon is Rocket. But don't let his size fool you. Inside that tiny head is a really big brain."

Rocket lowered his brow. "Hey. Who you callin' 'tiny'?" he gruffed.

Mikey took the pot out of Rocket's hand and presented it to his brothers. "And finally, this is Groot, the coolest guy in the galaxy."

The Turtles looked at the pot confused, seeing only a twig before them.

"Uh, Mikey? That's a stick," Raph said.

Mikey knew that Raph didn't mean to be so rude since he didn't know any better. He smiled and nodded, looking down at the pot fondly. "Right now he's just a stick. But he's gonna get bigger and stronger, and hopefully the next time we meet he'll be fully grown."

Gamora smiled sadly as she walked over to Mikey and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Mikey took a deep breath and fought back the oncoming tears. "Anyway, the five...I mean, the six of us are now officially the Guardians of the Galaxy. We just saved, like, the whole galaxy from this really crazy and powerful guy named Ronan." Mikey grinned and pointed to himself. "That's right. This guy saved the galaxy while you guys were doing...whatever it was you were doing while I was gone."

"We were searching all over the galaxy for the guy who framed you," Donnie nodded to the turtle thief.

"Ah, yes," Corpsman Dey, now Denarian, approached the thief. "I recognize you. Peena Slitter. Wanted on over twenty planets for robbery. Evaded capture for four years. Well, guess what? You're gonna serve eighty in jail."

"Aww, crap," the thief groaned and slumped in the officers' hold.

Mikey hated saying goodbye, especially to friends. But he still had a planet to save.

He kept his promise to Quill and used the Think-a-Food machine in the Ulixes to whip up a supreme pizza for his friend. As he carefully slid the freshly made pizza into a box, April approached him and rubbed his shell in comfort.

"You'll see them again someday, Mikey," she softly said.

"I really hope so," Mikey said in a quiet, somber voice. "'Cause they're the coolest guys ever and I had the best time with them."

He stepped out of the ship with the pizza box in his hands and saw the Guardians interacting with his brothers and Casey. Fugitoid was having a conversation with Nova Prime, but judging by the smile on the older woman's face, it was a friendly one.

Leo offered Quill his hand to shake. "I just want to thank you again for looking after our brother."

Quill smiled and shook his hand. "You're lucky to have a brother like him. He's a great kid." He looked up and saw Mikey walking toward them. He grinned widely when he saw the pizza. "Alright! Mmmm, that smells great. I haven't had a slice of pizza since I was eight."

Mikey smiled a little as he handed the box to Quill. "Heh, yeah. But this pizza's the best in the pizza in the entire universe, so savor every bite, dude."

Quill chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, will do." His smile slowly dropped and he sighed softly as he set the box down. "Look, Mikey...we're really gonna miss having you around, so who knows? We might decide to abduct you one day and take you on another galactic adventure."

Mikey chuckled at the joke. "Looking forward to it."

Quill held out his hand and Mikey took it. They gave each other a fond squeeze and Quill playfully slapped Mikey on the shoulder. "Until then, try to stay outta trouble, kid."

Mikey nodded and walked over to Gamora. The assassin said nothing, but he could clearly see tears in her eyes, and she knelt down to give the Turtle a hug.

He sucked in a deep, choked up breath and hugged her back. "I'll miss you, Gamora."

She nodded and hugged him tighter. "You are a brave and honorable young man, Mikey. Never let anyone convince you otherwise." She pulled away and quickly dried her eyes before the tears would drop.

Drax, on the other hand, was letting it all flow and tears came running down his cheeks in steams.

Mikey laughed and sobbed at the same time. "Aw, come on, Drax. You're gonna make me lose it now." He wrapped his arms around the large man's waist and squeezed as tight as he could.

Drax hugged back and started bawling like a baby, and soon so was Mikey. They stayed like that for a while before they pulled apart and Mikey turned to Rocket.

The raccoon only glared at him with his arms crossed. "So that's it, huh?" he grumbled. "You're just gonna jump ship and leave all the galaxy-saving to us?"

Mikey flinched as he felt the guilt stab at his heart. "I'm sorry, Rocket. I really wish I could stay but-"

"Hey, you know what?" Rocket cut him off. "It's fine. We don't need ya. In fact, we're better off without ya. You've been nothing but a pain in the ass since we first met. They say goodbye, but I say, 'good riddance!'" He huffed and looked away from Mikey.

Everyone looked at the raccoon appalled and disgusted, except Mikey, who smiled sadly at him and gently touched his shoulder.

"I'll miss you, too, Rocket," Mikey said before he turned to leave with his brothers and follow them to the Ulixes.

"Miss you?!" Rocket shouted as he watched Mikey step into the ship. "Didn't you hear a word I said, you stupid reptile?! I don't care if you leave! Not one frickin' bit!"

Mikey turned to look back at the Guardians one last time and waved at them with a sad smile and his eyes wet with tears. Everyone except Rocket waved back, and Drax went back into a bawling fit once the door slid shut.

Rocket ran after the Ulixes as it took off. "DON'T THINK WE'LL BE COMING BACK FOR YA ANYTIME SOON!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "THAT'S IT! GO ON! GET OUTTA HERE! AND DON'T COME BACK UNLESS I ASK YOU TO, WHICH WILL NEVER HAPPEN!"

But as the Ulixes started to get higher and higher into the stratosphere of Xandar, Rocket's shoulders slumped and he looked up at the sky with sad brown eyes. "You sure you wanna go?" he said in a much softer and more quiet voice. "I was beginning to like the tickle fights."

Finally, the ship disappeared into space and Rocket cast his eyes down as his bottom lip trembled. "I'll miss you," he said barely below a whisper.

He sighed as he plopped down on the bed exhausted.

He and his bros just saved the Earth from being sucked into the black hole all over again. And after traveling all across the universe and battling a pyscho with godlike powers, all Mikey wanted to do right now was to sleep in his warm, comfy bed that he missed so much.

But before he drifted off to sleep, he pulled out his now repaired T-phone and pressed on the iTunes app. He clicked on the song "Come And Get Your Love" by Redbone, which he heard on Quill's cassette.

Hail (hail)

What's the matter with your hair? Yeah

Hail (hail)

What's the matter with your mind and your sign?

And a, oh, oh, oh-a

He smiled as he listened to the music and slowly closed his eyes, thinking about his other family who was out there somewhere, savin' the galaxy.

Come and get your love

Come and get your love

Come and get your love

Come and get your love