"When the universe was in the brink of annihilation, Rocket and his friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy, did the impossible and wielded the Power Stone against Ronan as a team. While the day had been saved, it was only the beginning of the team's adventures…"
"Does anyone else feel… tingly after doing that?" Teefs asked, his whiskers bristling from residual Infinity Stone energy.
"Floor tired…" Floor replied, hopping onto Teefs' back and immediately passing out.
"I'll make sure we all get a deep tissue scan to be certain that we didn't contract any adverse effects from prolonged exposure," Lylla said.
Rocket was still in shock at the fact that they had even beat Ronan in the first place, but those thoughts were pushed to the side as the sound of clapping came to his ears. "Well, well, well… Quite the light show. Ain't this sweet," Yondu said as he and his Ravagers approached the team. "But you got some business to attend to before all the hookie-nookie starts."
"The what?" Teefs questioned.
"The deal we made, remember? Yondu helps us, and he gets the Stone," Rocket recalled.
Gamora looked to Quill. "Peter, you can't. Peter."
"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," Quill said.
"I may be as pretty as an angel, but I sure as hell ain't one," Yondu replied, pushing back his jacket to reveal his weapon of choice: a Yaka Arrow.
"Holy crap, he's got a Yaka Arrow?" Rocket whispered. "Those things are crazy dangerous and take a lot of skill to use… I'll admit it, I'm impressed."
Yondu held out his hand. "Hand it over, son."
Quill pulled out the Orb, looking over to Gamora for a moment before giving it to Yondu. The Ravager smirked as he gave a hand gesture, motioning for his men to move out and leave. "Hey Yondu," Quill called, making Yondu turn and look back. "Do not open the Orb. You know that, right? You've seen what it does to people."
Yondu just gave a point and a smile before leaving for his ship, the rest of the Ravagers following suit. Lylla just stared up at the treating fleet before looking to Quill. "We are going after him, right? We can't just let an Infinity Stone be in the hands of a space pirate, right!?"
Quill shook his head before pulling out a second Orb. "He is gonna be so pissed when he realizes I switched the Orb on him," he said.
"He was gonna kill you, Peter," Gamora pointed out.
"Oh, I know. But he was about the only family I had," Quill replied.
Gamora put a hand over his. "No. He wasn't."
After everything that had happened, Rocket finally had a second to process all that had gone down… and it broke him. The raccoon looked at the stick still held in his hands, the last remaining piece of Groot, and it made Rocket feel a pain he'd always feared of. There were nights when Rocket would have nightmares of being back in his cell on Counter Earth, visions of what ifs where he failed to save his friends and he was left all alone.
"Groot…" Rocket said in a broken voice, falling to the floor and silently weeping for the loss of his friend. He made a promise to keep his team, his family, safe at all costs... and he had failed one of them. Who cared if Groot wasn't part of Batch 89? He was still a friend, and Rocket couldn't save him. 'It should have been me…' he thought.
"Oh, Rocky…" Lylla whispered, sitting down next to Rocket and hugging him around his midsection, her head nuzzling into his neck. Teefs silently sat down and comforted his friend as well. Drax joined them as well, the warrior reaching out and giving gentle pets to Rocket. The raccoon bristled a bit but allowed for Drax to continue petting him. Even if he had lost one friend, Rocket was glad that the others were still here for him.
[***]
Nova Corps soon came to pick the team up, during which they were able to fully explain what had happened on the Dark Aster and everything involving the Power Stone. The Nova also told Quill some surprising news: his DNA was not that of a full-blooded human, but in-fact half of some unknown being of great power. That was why he was able to hold the Infinity Stone for so long and share the power with his friends.
"On behalf of the Nova Corps we'd like to express our profound gratitude for your help in saving Xandar," Nova Prime. "If you follow Denarian Dey, he has something to show you."
"Thank you, Nova Prime," Quill said.
"Yes, thank you, Ms. Prime," Teefs added.
"Bye, Nova Lady!" Floor called as she waved goodbye.
Lylla looked over to Rocket as they walked, the raccoon holding a pot that contained the Groot stick. "Are you okay, Rocket?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I just… gotta hope this works, right? I mean, he was a flora colossus, so maybe they can grow back?"
"We just have to believe," Lylla said.
Gamora looked to Drax. "Your wife and child shall rest well knowing that you have avenged them," she said.
"Yes. Of course, Ronan was only a puppet. It's really Thanos I need to kill," Drax replied.
"Hm… We may need to make better gadgets if we are to take on the so-called "Mad Titan"," Teefs hummed.
"Floor stab Thanos- with knife!" Floor exclaimed, holding up her weapon.
"Please don't brandish your weapon in the Nova HQ, Floor," Lylla sighed.
As the team followed Dey outside, they were surprised to see the Milano waiting for them. "We tried to keep it as close to the original as possible. We salvaged as much as we could," Dey explained.
"Wow. I… Thank you," Quill replied.
"I have a family. They're alive because of you," Dey said. "Your criminal records have also been expunged. However, I have to warn you against breaking any laws in the future."
Rocket held up a hand. "Question: What if I see something that I want to take, and it belongs to someone else?"
"You will be arrested," Dey replied.
"But what I want it more than the person who has it?" Rocket pushed, a chuckle coming to his voice.
"It's still illegal," Dey insisted.
"It was worth a shot, Rocket," Lylla giggled.
"Friend Rocket master of jokes," Floor laughed.
"What if someone does something irksome and I decide to remove his spine?" Drax asked.
"That's… That's actually murder," Dey replied. "It's one of the worst crimes of all. So… also illegal."
"They'll be fine, Dey. I'll keep an eye on 'em," Quill said.
"You?" Dey questioned.
"Yeah. Me," Quill nodded. With that the team got onto the Milano, exploring the ship and quickly carving out their own spaces. Rocket found the perfect spot to put his tools and work on his inventions, which was situated perfectly near where Lylla was setting up a small med bay for the team to use. Floor crawled around the innards of the ship to explore every nook and cranny, while Teefs sat at the main table in the middle of the ship, already drawing up new ideas for his crafts.
Music suddenly filled the ship, catching Rocket's ears as an R&B tune started playing. "Huh, I recognize this one," he muttered.
"Friend Rocket!" Floor exclaimed, suddenly popping out of a loose ceiling panel.
"Floor! What are you doing up there?" Rocket asked.
"Exploring. Friend Quill want all at front for flying into the sky!" Floor informed him before popping back into the ceiling.
"I'll fix that later!" Teefs said as he rolled on by with Lylla in tow.
Rocket shook his head and chuckled, grabbing Groot's pot and making his way to the front of the ship. The cockpit was situated to have five chairs: two in front for the pilot and co-pilot, and three in the back for passengers. In addition, there were two fold-out seats behind that for others to sit in, and a spot for Teefs to park his wheels and lock in for whenever they needed to take off.
Lylla and Floor took up one chair together as Drax sat in the back, Teefs locking himself in place as Quill took the pilot's seat and Rocket took shotgun. As the raccoon strapped himself in he looked down at Groot's pot and gasped as the stick started moving, giving a yawn as a new Groot was born into the world. "Hey there, little guy…" Rocket whispered with a smile, a stay tear coming off his face.
"So, what should we do next?" Quill asked the team. "Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?"
"We'll follow your lead, Star-Lord," Gamora replied.
"Bit of both!" Quill exclaimed as he fired up the engines, the Guardians of the Galaxy blasting off into space for many more adventures to be had.
[***]
As night fell over the Milano (well, as much as "night" can fall when you're floating in the endlessness of space), Rocket made sure Groot was tucked into his pot before getting ready for bed. The raccoon slipped off his jumpsuit, locking the door to his room at the same time before hopping onto his bed. The room was clearly made for a larger species, but Rocket made it work, a bit glad he had so much room to himself… and a special someone.
"Will Groot be okay by himself?" Lylla asked, the otter already bare of clothing herself.
"Yeah. It's not like he'll just uproot himself any time soon," Rocket replied, tossing the covers over the two of them.
Lylla laid herself over his stomach. "…Are you okay? You know, after what happened to Groot?"
Rocket let out a breath through his nose. "…I lost someone today, and I… I completely shut down, Lylla. Ronan would have destroyed all of us if Quill hadn't distracted him."
"Don't beat yourself up over Groot's decision, Rocket. You would have done the same if it meant keeping all of us safe. It's what friends do: we sacrifice and protect each other," Lylla replied. She let her hand linger over one of his visible augments, metal meeting metal. "…Do you ever dream about… back then?"
Rocket nodded. "Nightmares of being in his cages again. Trying to save you all, and watching as you all die one by one. Floor, Teefs… you. And all I can do is scream."
"I've had dreams like that… sometimes I feel a pain in my back before waking up, other times it's you I see get killed. Losing the ones we love, I think, is a fear that everyone has," Lylla said. "Drax probably dreams of his family, Quill of his family on Terra, Gamora of her sister… but that is part of living. If we focus on what we've lost, are we truly living? I'm sure Groot wouldn't want you so focused on his death."
Rocket rolled over, looking away from her. "I just… I have to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Groot's lucky he can grow back… even if he's a baby now. Practically a new person."
"Then we can raise him right. Like having a kid of our own," Lylla suggested.
"Y-You… want to have kids?" Rocket asked, turning back to face the otter.
Lylla smiled. "It's been a thought of mine ever since you said you loved me. I've seen other lovers with kids and… it would be nice to have one of our own someday."
"Are we even… compatible, like that?" Rocket questioned, heat coming to his muzzle.
Lylla gave a sultry look and positioned herself over his chest again. "Biologically, no… but when have we let an impossibility like that stop us before? Ever since we all held that Infinity Stone, I've felt more… connected to you than ever before. I want to be more than lovers with you, Rocky."
"Th-Then what do you want to be?" Rocket asked, his hands wandering to Lylla's waist.
"In my medical research, I've learned that animals consider their life partners as "mates" in the scientific community," Lylla said.
"Mates… I'd love to be your mate, Lady," Rocket said.
"Lady?" Lylla giggled.
Rocket smirked. "You're calling me Rocky now. I think I deserve to give you an endearing nickname. Now then, about this being mates stuff…"
The raccoon gave his mate a kiss, Lylla closing her eyes as she leaned into it… until a floor panel in the room was suddenly pushed aside, revealing a certain rabbit popping her head out. "Hello Friend Rocket, Friend Lylla!" Floor said.
Rocket and Lylla both froze, Rocket pulling the covers over them tighter. "Floor! What the flark are you doing in here!?" he exclaimed.
"Floor in Floor! Finding more hiding places," Floor said. "…Friends hugging in bed? Floor want to join in!"
"NO!" Rocket and Lylla shouted together.
"Smaller mammal, please leave the two rodents to their lovemaking!" Drax's voice shouted from outside.
"What the- Drax, were you listening to us!?" Rocket exclaimed.
"That's not cool, dude!" Quill's voice shouted.
"It is nothing to be ashamed of, Peter Quill. My wife and I would have passionate lovemaking-" Drax replied.
"TMI, dude!" Quill groaned. "Rocket, you better not make a mess in there."
"It's my room, Star-Munch! We can do what we want!" Rocket retorted.
"All of you go to bed!" Gamora shouted, banging on the wall. "Peter, you need to invest in thicker walls so I can actually sleep."
"Yes, it would help to keep noise out," Teefs added.
Lylla sighed and looked to Floor. "Please leave us be, Floor. It's late and we all need to sleep."
"Okay then. Good night!" Floor said, putting the floor panel back into place as she left.
Rocket groaned as he rolled over on his side. "Well, that killed the mood…"
"We can find another time for that, Rocky," Lylla said.
"I can recommend some good spots for such fornication," Drax said.
"GO TO BED, DRAX!" everyone shouted.
Author's Note
And that wraps up Volume One of our Batch 89 journey! Volume Two will start in the next chapter since only around two months pass between the first and second movies, so be prepared for that!
One thing interesting the MCU introduced in Phase 4 is the idea that dreams are portals into other realities, and I wanted to capitalize on that by giving Rocket nightmares about the "sacred timeline/canon" version of his story. Losing Groot has really shaken up the raccoon, and it may affect his judgement going forward. Losing his friends is Rocket's worst nightmare, and he'll do anything to make sure they're safe.
The ending scene was really funny to write. It starts off as a sweet moment between Rocket and Lylla, before getting a bit steamy as they vow to be mates, before Floor and Drax derail the moment into comedy as everyone else on the ship chimes in to say something. I was partially inspired by the movie "Zootopia" and how Judy's neighbors comment on what she's doing because of the thin walls between apartments. Rocket is going to have to invest in soundproofing if him and Lylla want to... enjoy themselves in peace (and make sure the floor panels are bolted down properly!)