"D-Dick? Did he just call you Dick?"
This has to be the worst day of my life. I wake up with a hangover and a faceful of red hair and blue skin, which actually wasn't bad, but I'm still going to add it 'cause I was then late to breakfast. We get attacked. The Guardians and the Leaguers get kidnapped, and then, if anything could get any worse, my identity has been exposed. Fan-fucking-tastic.
"As in Dick Grayson?" Wally continues, staring at me disbelievingly with wide eyes.
"That's not important right now." I growl towards Wally. He seems to be in shock, along with the rest of the team, excluding M'gann, but I don't give a flying fuck at the moment. We have bigger things to worry about.
I examine the robot I kicked the head off of. It seems really familiar to me, but I can't place it. I flip it over and rip the fabric off of the back. I jimmy the back off, throwing it with excessive force (I'm have every right in the galaxy to be mad at the moment) to the side. The workmanship inside is really messy, but still good. I find it's database chip and plug it into my wrist computer. I start to scan through it, looking for info. I can feel their stares combing over me, like they're trying to see the 5'2 troll in the 6'3 man.
M'gann, being the only one okay, comes over and crouches next to me. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking though it's database to try and see who built it." I answer, not bothering to look up.
"You'll be able to find it?"
"Yeah, the person that built this isn't as tech savvy as me, so it shouldn't be too hard."
The team suddenly snaps out of it and Conner stomps over, his face turning red. "WHAT?! It's not important?!" I don't have a chance to say anything before he whirls towards M'gann. "And how are you so fine with this?!"
"I sorta found out yesterday?" M'gann says, wincing at the reaction to come and, boy, is it a reaction.
They all start yelling at her, saying that she had plenty of opportunities to tell them that I was alive. Though not really yelling, Kaldur even begins to scold her. The team completely ignore me during the whole thing. I think they don't want to deal with me until they have to, at least right now. I'm not complaining, but they don't have the right to yell at her. I was the one who told her not to tell anyone.
M'gann curls into herself, her eyes starting to water. Are they idiots? Did they somehow get stupider over the years? She's an empath for fucking crying out loud. I stand up.
"Enough!" My voice booms, ringing with authority. They immediately stop and stare dumbfound at me. Finally. "Have you forgotten she's an empath? I was the one who told her not to anyways, so just quit your whining."
It's silent for a few moments before my wrist computer dings. I look down, "That son of a bitch." I take off towards the direction of Nova Prime's office. The team dart after me, not wanting me out of their sight.
I push through her doors, ignoring the guards. She looks like she wasn't expecting me, considering the fact she uses my first name to greet me.
"Dick! What happened?"
I explain the events of this morning pertaining to the fight and how the League and the rest of the Guardians were captured. The team stares at me the entire time while I explain, which doesn't do anything, but make me uncomfortable. I send a quick glare to get them to back off, which they cower from.
At the end of my explanation, Nova receives a transmission that they were not able to retrieve the Guardians or the Leaguers. She thanks him and turns towards me, "Thank the stars that at least you didn't get captured. Do you know who was behind the attack?"
"Sort of. Glarvis Minkle was the creator of the robots-"
"Then we know, don't we?" She frowns.
"No, this isn't his M.O. He's an old convict. He builds illegal weapons and sells them to the top bidder. He wouldn't be behind this."
"Then, you will go find this Glarvis Minkle fellow and find out who is behind this."
I nod, "Yes, ma'am." I turn to leave when suddenly Artemis steps forward.
"What about us?" Artemis asks, her hands on her hips.
"Ah, yes. What to do with you? I don't think you should stay here, they already know that they weren't able to capture you. I believe it would be best if you went with Mr. Grayson on his mission."
I whirl around, "I don't think that's necessary. Wouldn't they be safer here, under Nova's watch?" I try to subtly get her to keep them here, but she shakes her head.
"It would just endanger them to be here. They will go with you."
I knew I couldn't argue with her and it's not her fault I'm stuck with the Team. It's whoever took the Guardians...and the League. "Yes, ma'am."
I turn and leave, the team following me, again. I stop around the Team's hallway and turn towards them, "You will meet me at the ship docks in ten minutes. Gather your things and meet me there."
Wally grabs my arm as I leave to go gather my own. "We need to talk."
I tense up, but I try to stay calm. "I told you what to do."
"I'm not doing anything until we talk." Wally grounges out, gripping my arm tighter.
"Get your hand off of me." I warn, my eyes narrowing. "There's nothing to talk about."
"Nothing to talk about? How about where you've been the past eleven years? Why you're with the Guardians of the Galaxy? Why you don't call yourself Robin anymore? Why you never came back?" He shoves me into the wall at his last sentence, getting up close. In a flash, it's the other way around and my knife is being held at his throat.
"Don't touch me." I growl, one hand on the knife, the other gripping his the back of his head. Wally looks shocked and his eyes widen. He tries to move and I press harder, a trickle of blood appearing. The others have gone silent. "We don't have time for this. Go get your shit." I shove Wally away and head to the Milano, leaving them dazed behind me.
I lean against the Milano, pissed while I wait for them to arrive. I have to go deal with Glarvis while dealing with people I hadn't seen in years. I know Glarvis from my Ravager days, stole quite a few items from him. I actually stayed once, in the shadows, to see his face. It was priceless.
I hope that Peter and the rest of the Guardians are okay. If anything happens to them, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. They're my family and I would die for them. I've known them for seven years, Peter nine. They have to be okay, they need to be okay.
I snap out of my thoughts when I hear footsteps. The team walked towards me in a pack, probably not trusting from earlier. I snort at the sight and stand straight. I warned Wally and I don't like people touching me. Plus, I'm in a pretty pissed off mood, so they just suck it up. Before they reach me, I open the bay doors and walk in. I can hear their footsteps, so I know they're following.
"Welcome to the Milano. Sit wherever and don't touch anything."
I sit in the cockpit, thinking that less than a day ago I was here with Peter. I sigh, now I'm going to save him, the Guardians, and the Leaguers. It feels wrong to fly without the Guardians, but I push the feeling aside and continue on. We are just out of Xandar's atmosphere when M'gann comes and sits in the co-pilots seat. She doesn't talk for a while.
"What was that earlier?"
"I didn't have time for that and I knew he wouldn't stop, so I did what I had to."
"Excessive though." She says, glancing at me a little worriedly.
"Effective is what it is." I counter. "I warned him, so it's his own damn fault."
She opens her mouth to say something, but decides against it and instead says, "You realize that you'll have to talk to the rest of them eventually."
I sigh. "I guess." I set the ship on autopilot to the coordinates needed and stand up. "Here goes nothing."
"You'll be fine." She says, trying to comfort me. It doesn't work. I walk out onto the main deck to see the rest of the Team staring at everything around them with wide eyes. A few of them are up, looking at things. Wally picks up a metal object, turning it over.
"I wonder what this is?" He murmurs.
I spring forward and snatch it out of his hand as gently as I can. "Don't touch that."
"Why not?" He says, eyes narrowed. Geez, talk about aggressive. Well, I guess it's not unsanctioned, me attacking him earlier and all.
"It's a bomb." I say casually, tossing it into a box. Rocket really needs to pick up after himself and stop taking apart the ship. I don't know how many times Peter and I have told him that.
"What?!" He yells, backing up.
"Yeah, that's why I said, don't touch anything. Ring a bell?" I shoot him a glare.
His face flushes and he looks away, but he doesn't say anything. Awkward silence permeates the air and I struggle to find what to say.
"Uh, do you have any questions?" I ask, rubbing the back of my neck.
"What happened that day?" Kaldur asks.
"I got captured by a group called Ravagers. They transported me back to their dimension, this dimension."
"Ravagers?" Kaldur tests out.
"That's right. I was with them until Peter found me like two years after they took me. I've been with him ever since."
"Why did they take you?" Artemis asks.
"I don't know. I'm pretty sure they were paid to, but I'm not sure by who." Eleven years and I still don't know. "Anything else?"
"What have you been doing all these years?" M'gann asks.
"Traveling the galaxy, doing jobs with Peter. After the Ronan incident, became a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Been together with the rest of them ever since."
"The Ronan Incident?"
"Ronan the Accuser. He was a radical member of the Kree race. He got upset by the peace treaty between the Kree Empire and Xandar, so he tried to destroy Xandar with an Infinity Stone. We stopped him and became the Guardians of the Galaxy in the process."
"Do you think this Ronan could be behind this?" Kaldur asks.
I snort, "Not likely."
"Why not? You said he tried to use a different Stone. He could easily be behind this."
"It'd be kinda hard for him since he's dead."
It's silence after that.
"Oh." M'gann says.
"Yeah, so not him." I think it might be Thanos, but I'm praying to every deity that I can think of that it's not. "Do you guys want to know anything else?"
"I-we...there's so much we wanna know about what's happened to you over the years. What you've been doing and if you're okay. It has been eleven years."
"Yeah, well, I'm great." At least I was before they all showed up. "Anyways-" I'm cut off by the alarm blaring.
"Warning. Warning. Incoming ship." The computer drones in monotone voice.
I race to the cockpit, sliding in the ship. I quickly accesses the camera to see what they're dealing with. Hopefully it's just a random ship. Random ship, random ship, come on random ship!
Fuck. It's not a random ship. It's one I know all too well.
An incoming call alert pops up on the holo-screen and I groan loudly, throwing my head back. I reluctantly push accept and Yondu appears.
"What do you want, Yondu?" I ask.
"What? I can't check up on you brats once in a while? See how you doin'."
I roll my eyes, "You only come to us when you want something from us, so what do you really want?"
"I'd watch your tongue, boy. My boys wanted to eat you after what you did to them when you first arrived. Didn't let them eat Quill, so they still had no Terran flesh. You're lucky you were so great at pulling jobs or I'da let them. "
"You know, normal people don't think about eating other people."
"When did I say we was normal? Now look, where is Mr. Quill? I need to talk to both of y'all."
I stiffen, "Peter can't talk right now, so you'll have to leave a message at the beep. Beep."
Yondu glares at me, but continues. "Some of my guys were sent out on a job we was hired for. Anonymous person paying big units, you know, the usual. My guys went to meet up with the hirer and only one came back alive. He kept babbling on and on about some glowing rock and how they wanted to know things about you and your ragtag team. He went kaputz soon afta that."
An anonymous person is pretty usual, but they don't usually kill their employees. Something feels like the Guardians and League's capture and this anonymous employer are definitely connected. Especially when you add in how they wanted to know things about us and an Infinity Stone.
"I'm sorry that some of your guys died," I'm completely genuine, some of them were okay. "But I don't know exactly what you want me to do."
"I want you to find out who did this, so I can kick their asses all the way across the galaxy. I would find out, but we was hired for another job."
"I don't know..." I don't know if I want to do this or if I'll have time.
"Look, you do this and I'll..." He makes a frustrated face. "I'll owe you a favor. Just one! You ain't smuggling any more outta me. Plus, you don't agree and I'll blow you sky high, boy."
I smirk. Yondu hates owing people. "Got yourself a deal, you over-grown smurf."
He growls, "I'd watch it if I were you. My boys still want Terran flesh for dinner."
I roll my eyes again. "Yeah, uh-huh, I'll remember that. Bye, bye! " I quickly close the connection and as soon as he does, the Ravager ship turns around and leaves. I stand up and turn around to see the whole team crowding the doorway. They look horrified.
"They wanted to eat you?" Artemis says, her nose scrunching.
I chuckle, "Yeah, Yondu been holding that over our heads for forever. They never really tried. Well one bit me, but that was my fault."
"Our?"
"Oh, uh, Peter and I. They wanted to eat Peter too after they abducted him. Yondu thinks it such a great thing, not eating us. Asshole. Were you guys here for the whole call?"
"Yeah. What was 'pulling jobs' about?" Wally asks.
Oh, no. This isn't going to go over well. How should I say it? 'After I was taken, I became a Ravager and a criminal. I stole things from people for money.' That's too blunt. I should ease them into it.
"After I was taken, I became a Ravager. Well, more forced at first, but still." Good. Good. That's a good start. "I had to steal things from people once in a while. And by once in a while, I mean sometimes. And by sometimes, I mean everyday."
"You-you became a criminal? A THIEF?!"
"Yes. I'm actually quite good at it. " I think Catwoman would be proud actually.
"Who the fuck cares if you're good at it?! You stole from people! This-this isn't the Dick I knew. You would never steal from anyone for any reason. You used to fight against those people, you were the Boy Wonder. You had a moral code, a strict belief in justice. What the hell happened to you?!"
"I grew up, Wally! I'm not that optimistic little kid anymore! Yes, I became a criminal. Yes, I became a thief. What else could I have done? I was in a different dimension, you all were gone, so I did what I had to to survive. The world isn't black and white, there are grey zones and stealing is one of them. Seriously, I don't know how you guys still haven't learned that. Not all criminals are greedy, violent people. Some people have to do it. You need to learn the fucking difference."
"Which one are you, huh? I can't even see anymore." Wally says angrily.
"I don't have to explain anything to you, but I'm going to so you'll stop bothering me about it. In the beginning, it was just to survive. After a while, I got used to it and at some point, I found out that I liked it. Plus, the money was good, but now, I use my Ravager skills to help the world more.
"I'm not going to apologize though to anyone for what I've done. It's my life and it's what I do and I'm glad because if I hadn't became a thief, I would never have been able to save Xandar and I wouldn't be with my family today."
They still look shocked and angry, but I don't give a shit about what they think of me. They don't understand. "I don't care if you don't understand, but we still have to work together, so you're going to have to deal." The computer beeps and I go to it. After I find out why it beeped, I smile.
"Get in your seats. We're approaching Knowhere."
