AN: We got the episode titles for Season 2 of "What If…?" and I'm excited! Sure there isn't one for Guardians Volume 3, but that just means my story gets to stay original for a bit longer, right?
"Batch 89 are a close-knit group, always helping each other and learning more about themselves as they traveled from planet to planet. With the flora colossus Groot on their side as a new friend, they had many more adventures to go on, but also made sure to find time to relax. And when those times of peace came was when they would find out one of the most important things in life: the concept of love…"
Lylla flexed her fingers as Rocket finished the latest adjustments for her robotic arms, watching in fascination as nanofiber unfurled between each finger as she opened and closed her hand. "There you go. Now you should be able to swim like the rest of your species does," Rocket said. "Not bad for half a day's worth of work, is it?"
"It's wonderful, Rocket," Lylla replied with a smile. "Now, come on! Teefs and Floor are waiting for us out on the beach." She grabbed Rocket by the hand and practically dragged him out of the ship, stepping out onto the soft sand of where they'd landed the Rakk 'n' Ruin on their latest destination.
It was a planet untouched by civilization, mostly covered by ocean with a few islands popping up out of the sea here and there. Rocket had chosen this planet due to its remoteness, was well as the islands all having variant climates that would allow them to experience both the beach and snow without going anywhere else. Groot also apricated the stop, giving the tree man a place to soak up some solar rays and renew his energy, as his time on Sakaar had led to his body slowly weakening due to a lack of sunlight.
"Lylla, slow down!" Rocket laughed as she pulled him towards the sea. The raccoon dug his feet into the sand just as they got to the water's edge. "We can't just jump in the water now. We'll ruin our clothes."
"Hm, true," Lylla nodded. The otter let go of Rocket's hand and proceeded to strip down to her fur, neatly folding her cloak and putting it off to the side. "You coming in too, Rocket?"
"R-right…" Rocket stuttered, his eyes drawn to Lylla. There was that feeling in his chest again, the one that made his heart beat faster and his face flush with warmth. He couldn't say why he was feeling this way; after all, Batch 89 had lived for most of their lives up to this point without wearing any clothes. But watching Lylla just now remove her cloak…
"Rocket?" Lylla said, concern in her voice as he continued to stare at her.
"Uh, right!" Rocket shook his head, quickly removing his own clothes before following Lylla into the water. He was doing it again, getting lost in his own head whenever Lylla came to mind. For as smart as he was, whatever was going on with Rocket was lost on himself. For now, he just wanted to focus on being in the now with his friends.
"Rocket and Lylla! Rocket and Lylla!" Floor called, the rabbit splashing around in the water alongside Teefs. "Over here!"
"We're coming, Floor!" Lylla replied, diving into the water and taking to it like she was always born to do. The otter flowed through the water with grace, and though she'd never swam before in her life, her natural instincts and knowledge of the concept of swimming was enough for Lylla to quickly get the hang of it.
Rocket, on the other hand, was a lot more cautious of being in the water, the liquid cold on his skin as he slowly waded out into the depths. He made sure that there was always solid ground underneath his feet. The raccoon soon gave a gasp as he was picked up and put on the back of Teefs, the walrus chuckling to himself as he carried Rocket around.
"Not liking the water, Rocket?" Teefs asked.
"N-Not especially…" Rocket sighed, his face burning with embarrassment. "It's not that I don't not like the water, but being in it… I'm having second thoughts now."
"I can teach you to swim if you want," Teefs offered. "It's much more freeing than being stuck in the chair Sire made for me."
"Glad you enjoy it, buddy," Rocket said, patting Teefs on the head.
The four friends spent their afternoon on the beach, laughing and splashing about in the water. Teefs and Lylla even taught Rocket how to swim, and while the raccoon still didn't enjoy the activity as much as his semi-aquatic friends, he figured that knowing how to swim would be a useful skill. As the sky darkened and night settled in, Rocket and Floor gathered up some wood from the nearby forest to light a fire on the beach for the gang to huddle around, eating dinner and looking up at the stars.
"So many lights…" Floor said in awe. "Each light new world, yes?"
"Well, each of those is a star, actually, and even then it's only the light from those stars reaching our eyeballs," Rocket explained. "Some of them might have moved, or turned into black holes-"
"What's a black hole?" Floor asked.
"It's like a big, swirling hole that sucks in everything, even light," Rocket replied. "No one knows if there's anything on the other side since everyone that's gone inside has never come back."
"Friend Rocket be first to find out!" Floor exclaimed.
Rocket scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, let's put that idea on the "maybe I'll do this" list…" Lylla gave a laugh, making Rocket look at her funny. "Hey, what are you laughing about?"
"I just enjoy watching you explain things." Lylla said. "Your eyes light up whenever you start talking about space or building things… It's quite adorable."
'Adorable… She thinks I'm adorable…' Rocket thought, his face lighting up with heat and he gave a nervous laugh. "W-Well, I just… like hearing the sound of my own voice, I guess…"
"I am Groot," Groot laughed.
"You would think this is funny, wouldn't you…" Rocket muttered, silently thankful that he was still the only one that fully understood Groot.
"The stars really are beautiful at night," Teefs said, laying on his back and staring up at the sky. "I do miss having the music Grandmaster had every night, though. We could dance under the stars then…"
"Teefs don't need music to dance!" Floor giggled.
"But having music does make dancing more fun," Lylla chimed in.
Rocket suddenly gasped and sat up. "Wait just a minute! I'll be right back!" Running to their ship, the raccoon soon returned with a box-like device with an antenna sticking out of the top, setting it down near the fire for the others to see. "I found this on Sakaar when I was searching for parts to fix the Rakk 'n' Ruin. It can pick up radio waves, which means that if I tune this thing right…" Rocket flipped a switch, causing static to come out that made the others block their ears in discomfort. Turning some nobs on the device, Rocket managed to replace the static with a techno beat.
"Ah, much better…" Teefs sighed in relief.
"Rocket have magic music box!" Floor cheered.
"It's a radio transceiver, meaning it picks up radio waves from across the galaxy," Rocket explained. "It took a while to get it to tune into anywhere in the galaxy, but with this, we can get music whenever from wherever."
"Where is this music coming from?" Lylla asked.
"Uh… According to the coordinates, some planet the Nova Corps call Terra," Rocket said, reading off the screen on the device.
"I like it," Teefs said, rolling onto his belly and nodding along to the music.
"Yes! Music is the best!" Floor giggled.
Lylla smiled and nodded to the beat as well, before Rocket held out a hand to her. "Want to dance with me, Lylla?" he asked.
Lylla took his hand and stood up, the two swaying to the song as they started to dance.
Like the legend of the phoenix, huh
All ends with beginnings
"Floor want to dance too!" Floor cheered, only to Teefs to put a flipper on her back (which with her small size basically covered her entire body).
"You can dance, Floor, but let Rocket and Lylla have this moment," Teefs said.
What keeps the planet spinning, ah
The force from the beginning, hm, look
Lylla smiled as she stared into Rocket's eyes, the fire reflecting in them as his face started to pull into a grin.
We've come too far
To give up who we are…
Rocket decided to be a bit fancy and gave Lylla a spin, the otter laughing as she twirled around, losing her footing. Seeing this, Rocket quickly moved to grab her, his hands going to Lylla's waist to hold her steady.
So let's raise the bar
And our cups to the stars…!
"I am Groot," Groot said.
"Love? What the heck is love?" Rocket asked.
"I am Groot," Groot replied, making a heart shape with his hands.
"He says that love is what happens whenever two beings feel strong emotions between each other," Lylla said.
"Wait, you can understand Groot!?" Rocket gasped.
"I've been picking up on his words here and there," Lylla said.
She's up all night 'til the sun
I'm up all night to get some
She's up all night for good fun
I'm up all night to get lucky
"Love, huh…?" Rocket said. He started at Lylla, watching the fire's light glisten of her fur. 'High Evolutionary never taught me what love was… but whenever I look I Lylla, I feel like I wanna spend the rest of my life with her. I feel the same with Floor and Teefs and even Groot, but Lylla… I feel it even more…'
We're up all night 'til the sun
We're up all night to get some
We're up all night for good fun
We're up all night to get lucky
"Rocket?" Lylla whispered his name.
"…I love Lylla…" Rocket said. His face broke out into a manic grin as he picked up Lylla and twirled her around. "I love Lylla!" He hooted and hollered they spun in the sand, the raccoon not having a care in the world as he stared up into the sky. "I LOVE LYLLA!"
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
"I love you to, Rocket," Lylla laughed, holding herself steady as they spun around.
"Floor love Rocket and Lylla and Teefs and Groot!" Floor chimed in.
"I love you all as well," Teefs added.
"I am Groot," Groot said.
We're up all night to get lucky
We're up all night to get lucky
With his declaration to the heavens, Rocket continued to dance with his love well into the night, their friends dancing as well until the embers of the fire finally went out. Moving back to the ship to sleep, Rocket sighed as he climbed into his small quarters on the ship, only to be surprised when Lylla knocked on the floor to get his attention.
"Groot said that lovers tend to sleep together," Lylla explained herself. "I was wondering if you'd like to sleep together."
"Uh… sure," Rocket said. Lylla crawled onto the scrounged-up mattress and curled up next to Rocket. The otter tucked her head underneath his chin, with Rocket giving a small smile as he let his arms wrap around her body. He felt the warmth in his chest again, but it had become more controlled ever since he declared his love for Lylla. It was like… putting the feeling into words made him feel better.
'Love… I like love…' Rocket thought idly as he drifted off to sleep.
[***]
If you were to look at Batch 89 from the outside looking in, it was easy to say that Floor was the odd one out of the quartet. Despite Rocket being the youngest Floor was easily the most childish in terms of mannerisms and speech, but she didn't let that hold her back from helping her friends when she was needed. Floor's small size meant she could crawl into small places even Rocket couldn't get to and with a bit of assistance could fix the small bugs in the Rakk 'n' Ruin. She'd also proven capable in combat during their stay on Sakaar, using her spider legs to incapacitate opponents but targeting their nerve points.
"And there we go," Rocket nodded, sitting back as he finished the latest adjustments to Floor's augmentations. "Okay Floor, try moving your ears now."
Floor tilted her head from side to side, raising each ear individually. Rocket and Lylla had been studying the Batch's schematics again and realized that the antenna High Evolutionary had put on Floor were to compensate for her lopped ears. With a bit of adjustment Rocket had figured out a way to rework the antenna into hoops that looped around the rim of Floor's ears, giving her more control of her body once more.
"Floor hear even better now!" Floor smiled, jumping onto Rocket and giving him a hug.
"Glad you can," Rocket laughed, patting his friend on the head.
"Now we just need to figure out a way for Floor to be able to hold onto objects better," Lylla said, her and Teefs watching Rocket's work off to the side.
"Indeed, though I would like to do so without some of Sire's- I mean, the High Evolutionary's methods," Teefs said. He had started using the madman's true name, as had Lylla. Only Floor continued to call the man that created them Sire.
"Yes! Floor give friends big hug when she can use hands," Floor nodded vigorously. Her ears suddenly twitched, moving around like satellite dishes before rushing outside the ship. The others followed close behind, watching as the rabbit hopped up onto Groot's shoulders, her ears still moving around to find some unseen sound.
"I am Groot?" Groot asked, yawning as bit as he awoke from his midday sunning session.
"Floor hear sound from other side of island!" Floor said. "Floor want to explore!"
"Now wait just a minute, Floor," Rocket said. "We don't know what made that sound. For all we know, it's some wackjob that's going to try and skin us, or worse, it's a crony of the High Evolutionary."
"…Floor hear pain from sound too," Floor said, still looking towards where her ears were pointing. She took off like a gun into the woods, leaving the rest behind on the beach.
"Floor!" Lylla shouted. "Don't run off on your own!"
"Aw jeez, she's gonna get herself killed," Rocket groaned. He went back into the ship and grabbed his blaster, taking another one out for Lylla as well. "We've gotta go after her."
"Then let's not waste any time," Teefs nodded, turning on his wheels and shooting off with Rocket and Lylla on his back, Groot following not far behind. The friends followed behind Floor the best they could, listening for her footsteps and catching glimpses of her white fur in the foliage of the forest. The weather turned colder as the grass gave way to snow, only the tracks of Floor being left to follow as the gang kept up their pursuit.
"I forget how fast she is…" Rocket said with worry.
Lylla put her hand over his. "She's going to be safe as soon as we find her."
"If she isn't dead, I'll kill her myself…" Rocket grumbled.
The trail soon came to an end at a smoking crater, a damaged ship in the middle of it. Teefs rolled down into the crater carefully, pulling out a fire extinguishing foam from his belt to soothe the flames as Rocket inspected the site. The ship was star-shaped colored in yellows and blues, the cockpit damaged with the glass shattered up. Rocket climbed into the driver's seat and fiddled with the computers, finding most of it useless save for a few corrupted files.
"Looks like this is one of those Nova Corps ships," Rocket said. The gang had run into Nova Corps a few times, and Rocket had little trust for their authority. He'd heard what happens to those that stand out too much in the Galaxy, and a bunch of illegally modified animals was sure to get their attention if they were caught.
"Clearly it's seen better days," Teefs mused.
"Well, this planet, while off the grid, is considered to be part of Kree space," Rocket replied. "I bet whoever was flying this thing got a bit too close to one of their outposts or something and had to make a landing here."
"There's no sign of the pilot…" Lylla said, her eyes trailing off out of the crater. "Look, there are more of Floor's tracks over there!"
"I am Groot," Groot said with concern.
"Yeah bud, I seem 'em too," Rocket said, hopping on the tree-man's shoulder. There were bigger tracks next to Floor's as well. "She would be naive enough to go after a big monster, wouldn't she? I just hope it's not another one of those Wendigos…"
The group made haste to follow the trail, arriving at a cave in the mountain side where the tracks ended. Teefs took the lead, pulling out a flashlight to light their way while Rocket kept his gun ready for anything to jump out at them. As they got deeper in noises could be heard, one of them sounding distinctly like Floor.
"Stop it…!" Floor's voice echoed.
"Floor!" Rocket shouted, hurrying forward with Lylla to rescue their friend. The raccoon whipped around a bend in the cave, pointing his blaster with conviction at whatever it was had kidnapped Floor. "Okay you flarking kidnapper, drop my friend or else you'll taste my plasma bolts!"
"Oh, hello Friend Rocket!" Floor greeted, hopping in front of Rocket's vison.
"F-Floor!" Rocket backed up a bit, lowering his gun as Lylla and the others caught up to her. "For Flark's sake you can't go running of like that, Floor! I thought someone had kidnapped ya!"
"No sleeping like child. Floor big rabbit now!" Floor said obliviously. "Floor hear sounds of pain, and follow scaley lady into cave."
"Scaley lady?" Teefs questioned.
Floor nodded. "Yep! Scaley lady like us! Wears funny suit and makes fire with her mouth. Floor find her in here." Floor hopped deeper into the cave, the gang following behind cautiously to see this "scaley lady" their friend was talking about.
As it turns out it was a Nova Corps member, and one that had seen better days at that. She was female by the looks of it, easily as large, if not larger than Groot with green scales, curled horns on her face, and a lashing tail with wings on her back. Her uniform was torn to shreds, likely from the crash, with a cracked helmet resting off to the side.
"Oh, a big scaley lady," Teefs said.
"…What's this… More natives of this planet?" the Nova said, her voice deep and distrusting. "So, this is how it ends… eaten alive by furry little animals and a Flora Colossus." She made a hissing sound with her throat as she spit out a steam of flames, only for it to cut off as she started coughing.
"See? Scaley lady hurt," Floor said. She hopped forward towards the Nova.
"Floor, wait-!" Rocket whispered angerly.
"Hello!" Floor waved. "My name Floor, because I am on the Floor. Floor heard fireball crash and found you in cave. Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?" the Nova asked sarcastically. "No, I'm not… Just kill me now so I may at least go out with some dignity…"
"Floor no kill. Floor here to help," Floor shook her head. With no will to resist the Nova let Floor hop into her lap, the rabbit's ears twitching again as she unfurled her spider legs and pressed them against certain points on the Nova's body.
"What is she doing!?" Rocket whispered.
"It looks like she's using acupressure points to relieve the Nova's pain," Lylla said, her medical knowledge giving her insight as to what Floor was doing. "She's bring… comfort to her…"
The Nova flinched as Floor pressed her legs onto pressure points, but stopped tensing as the pain in her body started to drain away. "What… the pain… is lessening…" she said.
"Floor and friends make you feel better," Floor said. She looked to her friends and waved. "Come friends! Help scaley lady!"
"Do you think we can trust her?" Rocket asked.
"I am Groot," Groot shrugged.
"She doesn't appear to be a treat at the moment," Teefs said.
"I agree with both of them. There's no harm in helping," Lylla said.
Rocket gave a sigh. "Fine. Teefs, Groot, go back and get the ship. We have medical supplies there." The two left after that, leaving Floor, Rocket, and Lylla with the Nova. "So, Nova Corps lady, what's your deal? Where'd you come from to land on this backwater planet?"
"I am Centurion Fraktur of the Nova Corps, Andromeda Division," the Nova replied. "I was on a mission to investigate a Kree-Skrull conflict out on the far sector of this area, but my ship was heavily damaged during the engagement. I was able to hit a jump gate to escape, but clearly the damage to my ship wasn't enough to make it back to Xandar."
"We can get you home!" Floor offered.
"No, we can't," Rocket said. "We're trying to stay off the grid, remember? Besides, she's way too big for our ship."
"She's the same size as Groot," Lylla pointed out. "Rocket, we can't just leave her here to die. I'd feel awful if I knew I'd left someone behind just for our supposed safety."
Rocket scowled, but turned away and crossed his arms. "…I hate how much sense that makes…" he groaned. "Fine, we can take Fraktur back to the nearest Nova outpost, but we're outta there as soon as we're done, got it? I don't need to be shoved back into another cell..."
"Oh, like time we break Rocket out of space rock?" Floor said.
"Or the time those poachers tried to sell us on the black market," Lylla recalled.
"Yeah, yeah, but I got us out each and every time," Rocket dismissed. "I'm mostly trying to keep off the Nova Corp's shit list here…"
Fraktur looked at the raccoon. "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be 89P13, would you?" she asked.
"I go by Rocket now," Rocket corrected her. "That's Floor, she's Lylla, the walrus is Teefs, and the tree is Groot."
"There's been talk about a group of illegal experiments," Fraktur said. "We only have so much information on you due to how you've been evading the law up to this point…"
"Yeah, and we intend to keep doing that," Rocket replied. "I'm not getting me or my friends locked up in a lab again."
Fraktur didn't respond to that, keeping a hand resting on Floor as she stroked the rabbit's fur. "…If you can get me to a Nova outpost, I'll keep your involvement off the records," she offered.
"Really?" Lylla questioned.
The Nova nodded. "Yes. I'd rather not have to admit to my co-workers that I was saved by ones such as yourselves. I have a reputation of being able to do things on my own to uphold. Though I would advise getting yourselves some sort of legal identification. It would make intergrading yourselves into galactic society much easier than constantly jumping from planet to planet."
"We'll… consider that…" Rocket replied.
"Scaley lady warm…" Floor cooed, snuggling into Fraktur's grip.
"Well, she is a space dragon. They tend to have fire sacs that keep their bodies at a warm temperature," Lylla mused.
"We're back with the ship!" Teefs called, reentering the cave with Groot. The group got moving, with Groot and Teefs helping Fraktur to stand so she could walk to the Rakk 'n' Ruin.
Rocket winced as the ship groaned a bit upon the Nova's entry. It was clear that with all six of them on-board, their vessel was at their limit in terms of what they could hold. "I'm gonna have to reinforce the hull again if we have to take on more stragglers…"
"If you think I'm big, you should meet my cousin," Fraktur chuckled. "I'm not even a quarter of his biomass."
"Oh, big scaley man…" Floor said in awe.
The Rakk 'n' Ruin was soon off into the sky, finding the nearest jump gate and heading off to the closest Nova outpost. As they flew there, Rocket stayed focused on flying while Fraktur made small talk with the rest of the crew.
"So, what are you all doing out here? What's a bunch of illegal experiments and a Floral Colossus do for money?" Fraktur asked.
"We're explorers first and foremost, traveling across the forever sky seeking nothing but the satisfaction of travelling," Lylla replied.
"We also have a knack for fixing things," Teefs added. "Rocket's really good with his hands- as am I." He pulled out his robotic limbs to show off the mechanics. "He made us these upgrades to our robotic parts."
"So, a motley crew of mechanics and explorers," Fraktur summarized. She patted Floor on the head. "And what's this little one do?"
"Floor is Floor. Floor is friend to all!" Floor replied.
"Hm… Rocket is our pilot, a decent marksman, and the captain," Lylla said. "Teefs helps with repairs and making things, I'm the medical expert- and a half-decent fighter myself, though Groot is our main muscle. As for Floor… For the longest time I didn't understand the High- erm, our creator's intentions with her programming, but I think in helping you I've come to understand it a bit more."
"I am Groot?" Groot said in surprise.
Lylla nodded. "Yes, I thought that "comfort" and "manipulation" were contradictory, but I understand her design now. Floor was made to aid in the capture and rehabilitation of more… dissenting subjects. Her mechanics allow her to identify high levels of stress and use pressure points to safely subdue a target, while her innocent nature allows her to quickly gain the trust of others, though she also has a way of keeping herself out of harm should the target retaliate against her as well."
"Hm… So she was made in an effort to control and calm down troublesome experiments," Fraktur summarized. "But she also has a way of putting others at ease… That makes me think of the therapy pets back on Xandar that the Nova use to help our ranks deal with trauma."
"Floor is not a pet," Rocket growled.
"I'm not saying she is, just that her assigned role is similar to one," Fraktur replied.
"Floor like helping others… Floor feel safe when others feel safe," Floor said.
"And we apricate your help always," Lylla replied with a smile.
The Rakk 'n' Ruin soon arrived at the Nova outpost, dropping Fraktur off with her people while also keeping her promise of not mentioning Batch 89's involvement. The gang was back out in the stars once more, looking for something new to explore. Lylla took a seat next to Rocket, leaning up against his side as they flew through the starry sea.
"It feels nice to help others, doesn't it?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I guess," Rocket shrugged. "My main focus us keeping all of us safe, okay? But If you guys want to help others, then I guess I got no choice but to help as well… And Fraktur's suggestion of getting us all officially documented might not be a bad idea- as long as I can make sure the High Evolutionary doesn't track us down. The last thing we need is that guy dragging us back to his fortress again…"
Author's Note
Rocket and Lylla confessed their feelings to each other! I like the idea of Groot being the one to explain the concept of love to the Batch 89 gang, and Rocket making his confession during a romantic dance with his lovely lady. I have this chapter set in 2013, so I decided to pick a song from that summer to play, landing on "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk since their music as a whole fits the spacefaring of Guardians of the Galaxy very well.
For the second half of the chapter, we find out that Floor's abilities actually relate to her being a therapy animal! This is in reference to how in the original comics the animals of Rocket's planets were uplifted in order to take care of insane asylum patients. I wanted one of the batch to take on this role, and I believe that Floor's innocent nature makes her the most approachable in personality to be able to helm calm down those in distress (probably helps that Rocket made all those modifications to her robotics as well).
And we have our first Nova Corps member and a comic book character, the dragon-like Fraktur! She's from a run on Nova where she was a new recruit to the corps, and she just so happens to be the cousin of the classic Marvel villain Fin Fang Foom. I originally had Foom taking her place, but I thought making the Nova connection would work better for the story. Better to have Floor helping a small dragon than jumping instantly to her taming a massive dragon.
Next time will be the last of the "prologue" chapters before we get to the plot of the first movie. Our gang have established their roles on the team, so now it's time that they get some more time working with other aliens out in the galaxy!