Mathew-Swift-Fiction presents...
"Guardians of the Galaxy: Prime Directive"
Murder Drones belong to GLITCH/Liam Vickers * GotG belong to Marvel (This version of GotG belongs to Eidos-Montreal)
(The events of this story takes place during the pilot of Murder Drones and before the events of Marvel's GotG. This story is not-canon to both of those stories or their timelines)
Chapter Three
The Doorman and the Star-Lord
Uzi couldn't believe her eyes, as she pointed the railgun at the strange creature with glowing red eyes. It didn't look like a Murder Drone, thankfully, but she still stood her ground.
"You're not one of them, are you?!" She asked, deepening her glare at the weird creature, placing her finger over the trigger. "Answer me!"
"Chill, man!" The thing spoke, in a masculine voice, as he held up his hands. "One of what?"
"What else?! The Murder Drones, obviously!" screamed Uzi. She still grasped on the railgun, stepping forward, as the barrel poked the humanoid.
"Look, I don't know what a Murder Drone is, but I can assure you, I'm not one of them!" The man shook his head, but Uzi was still rather skeptical.
"If that's so, then who are you, exactly?" Leering up at him, she aimed the railgun to the man's face. "Tell me!"
"My name's Peter Quill, okay?!" The figure known as Peter Quill said, taking a step back from Uzi.
"What kind of a name is 'Peter Quill?'" Uzi raised an eyebrow at him, still wary of Peter.
"Well, if you'd like, you can call me 'Star-Lord.'" Peter suggested. However, he begins to hear Uzi chuckle under her breath. "Hey, what's so funny?"
"Seriously? Star-Lord?!" Uzi laughed harder, echoing through the spire. "That's, like, the lamest nickname I've ever heard!"
"Hey, c'mon, it's a badass name! I got it from one of my favorite bands!" Peter felt offended by her laughter. But Uzi continued her giggle-fit.
"To you, maybe!" She chuckled, as she tried to shrug off the giddiness, returning to her intimidating demeanor. "But that's besides the point! You're going to tell me EXACTLY what you were doing in the Murder Drone lair!" She stomped closer to Peter, pushing the railgun close to his face. "Did the company hire you?! Are you here to disassemble us?!"
"What? No!"
"Then start talking!" The railgun basically tapped Peter's mask, as he stepped back a bit. "Or I start blasting your parts across all of Copper Nine!"
"Look, kid," He looked over the gun, seeing Uzi's furious look. "I get that you don't trust me, but I'll talk, okay? Just put down the gun, and I'll answer any question you want, okay?" He proposed to Uzi, as she remained hesitant, contemplating it. Eventually, Uzi points the railgun away from Peter.
"Fine, but no funny business, got it?" Uzi demanded, as she kept her glare up at him. "So, Quill, was it?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you, exactly?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "You don't look like any drone that I've ever seen."
"Well, I'm not exactly a drone, kid." Peter answered, but Uzi quickly retorted.
"Stop calling me a kid! If you're gonna call me anything, call me Uzi!" She quickly aimed her gun back up at Peter.
"Sorry, sorry!" Peter placed his hands back up, as Uzi kept staring at him maliciously. "So, Uzi, as I was saying… I'm not exactly a drone, okay." Upon saying that, Peter began to reach for his mask and pressed a button on the side. The magenta-colored glass disassembled, showing his face, showing his blonde slickback haircut and golden stubble on his face. As he revealed his face, Uzi's eyes lit up in shock, not believing what she was seeing.
"W-w-wait a minute," She stuttered, lowering her railgun. "Are you a… a human?"
"Well, technically half-human, but… yeah." Peter smirked, hoping that Uzi could go a bit easy on him. However, as he did, Uzi sucker-punched him in the gut, causing him to wince in pain "OW! The hell was that for, man?!"
"That was for your kind, ruining our lives!" Uzi spat at him, sounding pissed off.
"Ruining your lives? Look, I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Bite me!" Uzi turned from Peter, placing her hands in her pocket, pouting visually.
KATHUMP!
The sound of thumping from up above caused both Uzi and Peter to silence themselves, looking up to whatever might be causing it. The two of them huddled to each other, backs against each other. Peter brought out his dual blasters, as Uzi aimed her railgun up high, following the source of the thumping.
"Uhh, friend of yours?" She asked Peter, sounding a bit frightened.
"Not even close." Peter whispered, also sounding scared. He pressed the button, as his mask reappeared on his face, as they stayed silent, as the thumping sounds got more eerie and closer to the hold near the peak of the spire.
Then, almost as if it were lightning, something thundered down from the hole, crashing down behind Uzi and Peter like a meteor. The impact sent the both of them flying, falling over onto the snowy battlefield. A huge snow cloud covered the intruder's presence, as a glowing, golden X was seen from within it.
"What the flark is that thing?!" Peter asked, getting himself back up, arming himself with his blasters, aiming them at the cloud.
"That's…" Uzi's gaze looked more terrified, showing purple rings rather than ovals on the digital face. "...a Murder Drone."
The cloud dissipated, showing the Murder Drone in its glory. A tall, silver-haired drone, almost as tall as Peter, posing from a three-point landing, showing off its glimmering, razor-sharp wings. Wearing a flowing black trenchcoat, along with a glowing headband, atop of a black pilot's cap. Its long tail, infused with a needle of glowing yellow chemicals, hovered over its owner, as the monstrous drone bared its razor-sharp fangs at its prey. It's hard to tell, but Peter's reaction was in utter fright, upon seeing the Murder Drone.
"Okay, that thing looks creepy as Hell!" Peter lifted his blasters to the killer drone, ready to fire. Upon seeing the weapons lifted, the drone hissed and began to lunge towards Uzi, protracting its sharp, sword-like claws at her. As it charged, Peter began to fire the projectiles from his blasters, as they hit the Murder Drone. However, the shots weren't even harming the drone, but it did cause the drone to look in his direction, glaring it's shining X on Peter.
"Quill, what are you doing?!" Uzi yelled at her temporary partner, as the Murder Drone paid no attention to her.
"HEY! YOU WANT A DISTRACTION?!" Peter yelled, as the drone wagged its tail in anticipation for its kill. "WELL, YOU GOT ONE, JACKASS!" Peter jumped, and the engines on his boots caused him to hover in the air, as he tried to lure the drone away from Uzi. Luckily, the Murder Drone took the bait and followed Peter. However, it was now determined to slaughter Peter.
Peter continued to fire his blasters at it, making the drone more impatient and frantic, like a furious tiger on the hunt. Uzi was in shock, as she saw Peter keeping the drone away from her. However, the drone began to run on all fours on the walls of the spire, quickly catching up to Peter. Then, it jumped out, as it tackled Peter, causing both of them to fall to the ground with a massive thud.
"Quill!" Uzi shrieked, as she took the railgun and ran towards the impact, while Peter was pinned by the drone, as it leered down on him, its saliva dripping onto Peter's face, awaiting its next meal. As the drone licked it's fangs, Peter winced at the smell of oil from its breath.
"Ugh, come on," He retorted, as he tried to move. "Would it kill you to take a mint every now and then?" But the drone merely hissed at him, as it leaned closer to him, its fangs glistening against the moonlight. But as it was about to bite…
"TAKE THIS!" Uzi tossed one of the discarded Worker Drone heads and tossed it at the murderous robot, hitting it point blank on the head, causing it to fall over, letting Peter free. Uzi was breathing heavily, as she saw the drone go down. Peter got himself back on his feet, as he chuckled at her throw.
"Heh, Babe Ruth, eat your heart out." He joked, as Uzi felt offended by the name.
"Hey! Don't call me 'Babe!'" She snapped, causing her to blush slightly.
"Not that kind of babe!" Peter tried to correct her. "It's an Earth thing. It means…" However, as Peter was about to explain, the Murder Drone flew above him, towards Uzi. "LOOK OUT, UZI!" But the warning came too late, as the drone landed in front of her and used its tail to strike Uzi in the left arm, the syringe going straight through her arm.
"AUGH!" She winced in pain, as the drone lifted her with its tail. As it swung her around, she was tossed all the way across the hideout, landing close to the landing pod. Landing with a loud crash, Uzi grasped her arm, as a bit of the acid was dripping off of it. As she tried to look at her injury, she noticed her weapon, collecting snowflakes not too far from her.
However, the drone wasn't done with her yet, as it retracted its claw and replaced it with what seemed to be a laser cannon, pointing it right at the injured Worker Drone. It began to charge the cannon, as a ominous, neon yellow light was getting brighter and brighter.
"HEY!" Star-Lord yelled, as he shot a few plasma projectiles at the armed drone, as it looked in his direction. "WHY DON'T YOU STOP PICKING ON THE LITTLE GUY, HUH?!" The drone's expression hadn't changed whatsoever, as it aimed its cannon towards Peter. He noticed his aim and began to run away from where Uzi landed, as the drone followed Peter's footsteps. Then, it fired, just in front of him, causing a massive explosion before him.
KRACK-KABOOM!
"Quill!" Uzi called to him, as the masked human landed, winded and tired from the impact. The drone, upon seeing its prey fall, flew quickly towards it, standing before Peter, as it aimed the cannon towards Peter's head, beginning to charge it up again.
"HEY, MURDER DORK!" Uzi's voice rang out, as the Murder Drone looked towards where the voice came from. Uzi, still groaning in pain, was aiming her glowing railgun directly at the drone. The drone stood there, frozen upon what it was witnessing. Then, Uzi pulled the trigger.
"BITE ME!" She shouted, as a massive, emerald-green ray shot from the railgun, hitting the head of the Murder Drone and melting a hole in the wall of the spire. Peter stayed down, as he could feel the heat of the massive beam. The beam shot from out of the spire, flying into the atmosphere of Copper Nine.
BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
As the rest of the Guardians continued their walk back to their ship, a blanket of green light lit up the snowy ground, as they noticed the change in lighting. The four of them turned around to see a gigantic, green pillar launching out into the sky from one of the spires.
"I am Groot?" asked Groot, confused at what he was seeing.
"I dunno, bud," Rocket was in awe at such a sight. "But I've never seen such destructive beauty!"
"It seems that Peter Quill's explorative instincts appear to be correct." Drax nodded, watching the beam dissipate into the air.
"You don't think…" Gamora asked, as she looked towards where the pillar originated. "...he's hurt, do you?"
"I am Groot!" Groot suggested, pointing to the tallest spire.
"I agree with the tree. We should hurry and go rescue Quill. Let us make haste!" Drax began to lead the others towards the tallest spire, wielding his knives. However…
"I'm afraid you're not going anywhere… Guardians of the Galaxy…"
A mature, female voice echoed, spooking the group. Pulling out their weapons, Rocket, Drax, Gamora and Groot kept their eyes all around them, trying to find the source of the voice that taunted them. Wherever they looked, they would see a pair of shadowy figures fly from one destroyed building to the next at lightning speed. Gamora tried to contact Peter through the communicator.
"Peter, are you there? We're kinda in a situation right now!" Gamora spoke into the communicator, but all she could hear was static on the other end. "Peter? Peter!"
"Ooooh, the rodent would make a damn, good pelt for my jacket!" Another female voice echoed in the wind, sounding a bit younger than the other voice. Rocket aimed his minigun towards where he heard the voice.
"Hey! Who are you callin' rodent?!" He snarled, glaring all around him, staying close to Groot. "I oughta put lead into yer flarkin' head!"
"Oooh, feisty! This one seems like fun!" The young voice giggled deviously, enjoying the toying of Rocket Raccoon.
"Show yourself, cowards!" Drax yelled, his voice echoing across the land. "If you wish to combat us, reveal yourselves to us!" The two voices began to giggle across the wind.
"I am Groot!" Groot stayed close, feeling a bit frightened, but tried to sound brave.
"Yeah, Groot's right! Why don't ya come out and face us like a flarkin' man, huh?!" Rocket antagonized the voices in the wind, as he fired a few warning shots from his weapon.
"As you wish, rodent." The young voice taunted, pissing off Rocket even more. As if on cue, two figures landed in front of the Guardians, causing the snow and fog to blow around them. The fog disappears to reveal two tall, feminine looking drones, both of which with neon-golden eyes, long tails with syringes and silver hair. The taller one was in a business suit, as her twin pigtails flowed with the harsh winds. The smaller, and shorter haired drone was smiling maliciously, unsheathing her swords from her metallic sleeves. She donned a black, leather jacket with a furry collar, also blowing in the wind.
"I am… Groot?" Groot asked, stepping back a bit.
"Charmed. I am Serial Designation J, and this is my associate, V." The drone called J bowed towards the Guardians, as she protracts a razor claw. "So, what do we owe the pleasure… Guardians?" She said the last word deviously, as both her and V's eyes became an X, as they both laughed maniacally in the fog.
"Shit..." Rocket mutters under his breath, as he gulps at the sight of the two vampiric drones before them. "Where the flark are you, Quill?"
"Peter!... Are you… ?" The voice of Gamora was trying to reach Peter's ear from the mask's earpiece, but there was a lot of static, cutting off the reception. "Kinda… situation… now… Peter!" As he started to get up, he tried to speak back.
"Gamora, you there?" He asked, but the radio was only met with static. "Come in! Hello?" Groaning, Peter shuts the radio off, as he gets back on his feet. "Stupid ravager tech." However, his complaints were quickly silenced by ecstatic cheering.
"IT WORKED! HAHAHA!" Uzi cheered, her voice echoing throughout the spire, as she hugged her railgun tightly. "They thought I was crazy! Well, who's laughing now, Dad?! Hahahahaha!" Peter chuckled at the sight of the excited Worker Drone, laughing euphorically, as Peter looked down at the destroyed Murder Drone. Still spitting out electricity from its exposed neck, the head was shot cleaned off its shoulders. He stepped over the headless killer robot, making his way towards the cheery drone.
"Not a bad shot, if I do say so myself." Peter smirked, crossing his arms, as Uzi froze in place, as she blushed out of embarrassment.
"Yeah?" Uzi gave a faint smile at the compliment, as she shook her head. "Sh-shut up! You don't mean that…" She turned away from Peter, wiping the bang away from her eyes.
"No, I really do." Peter tried to reassure her. "You really saved my ass back there. So… thanks." Peter couldn't see her face, as Uzi remained silent for a bit,
"Uhh, y-yeah… don't mention it." Uzi looked back at him, looking both puzzled and skeptical. "You… really aren't like the humans I heard about…"
"What do you mean, kid?" asked Peter, as he knelt down to her, keeping his eye level with her's.
"Well, it's just…" Uzi grasped onto her injured arm, as she looked down onto the ground, seeing one of the disassembled drones, buried in the snow beneath her boots. "The humans that made us… treated us like slaves… tools… and the minute we ceased to be useful…"
"They throw you away like you were nothing…" Peter finished her sentence, as he began to feel bad for the teenage drone.
"Sniff… yeah…" Uzi's eyes began to shed a digital tear. "But when that big bang happened… the one that killed all the humans… we finally had a place to call our own. We finally knew what it was like to make our own choices. We finally knew what it was like to be free! And then…" She points towards the Murder Drone's headless corpse. "They sent those monsters… and took our freedom away from us!" She looks back to Peter, as her look becomes upset.
"Wow… I…" Peter was taken aback by how this affected Uzi, as he looked down to the ground, processing the situation. "I had no idea, kid… Maybe there's something we can do to help…" But before Peter could offer help, Uzi gave him a malicious glare, shooting daggers at him.
"There isn't! I will never forgive those humans for stripping away our freedom!" Uzi roared, her voice echoing across the cavern. "YOUR KIND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING US WORKER DRONES THROUGH HELL!" After her outburst, Uzi begins to sit down in the snow, crouching in a fetal position, hiding her face in her arms. The sound of muffled sniffling can be heard from her. "Just… go away and leave me alone…"
Peter Quill felt sad for Uzi, as he began to connect the dots to the sorrowful story of Copper Nine and its inhabitants. Looking at the drone corpses below him, as well as the massive spire walls, the situation, according to Peter, became much more severe. That distress call on the Milano wasn't to save one person. It was to save an entire civilization from becoming extinct. Feeling more guilty, he places a gloved hand on Uzi's back, causing her to look at him, her visor watered with digitized tears.
"Look, I don't exactly know what happened here," He tried to calm Uzi down, patting her back to make her feel better. "But if it's any consolation… I'm sorry that my kind treated yours like garbage."
"It's… it's fine." Uzi turned away from him, as she shoves her beanie over her face. "You weren't even there, so you don't have to apologize."
"No, it's completely fine. If you ask me," Peter said, as he carefully lifted her beanie, seeing her sad face. "It's about time that someone apologized for taking away your freedom… I promise, kid, me and the other Guardians will do whatever it takes to save your people." Her eyes look up to Peter's gaze, as she smiles softly at him. She takes her beanie and readjusts it.
"Do you… do you really mean that?" She asked, through fits of sadness, before pulling her beanie back down harshly. "Just… forget about it! This is so stupid!"
"Hey, of course I do." Peter reassured her, leaning in closer to her. "I swear by my mom, the Guardians of the Galaxy will set you and the other Worker Drones free once and for all… or die trying." Touched by the promise this human made to her, Uzi lifted her beanie up slightly to look up at Peter Quill and give him a smile. For the first time in her life, she felt something that the Worker Drones hadn't felt in ages.
Hope.
"Thank you, Peter…" She said, sounding hopeful with her gratitude. "I guess not all humans are bad, after all…"
"Hey, you saved my life." Peter smirked, petting her head. "It's the least I owe you." Uzi felt humbled, as she pulled out her father's wrench from her pocket. She looked back up to Peter, as she smiled.
"You know, nobody has ever said anything nice about…" As she spoke, she noticed something in the distance, as her mood became scared. "Uhhh, Peter?!"
"What's wrong?" Peter asked, following her gaze, seeing the unexpected. The headless Murder Drone was standing back up, as a strange, silver goop was taking form in the shape of its head. Peter was in shock upon seeing the head regenerate back to its former self, as the drone's visor shined red text.
ERROR - OPTIC SYSTEMS OFFLINE
"Aw, you've gotta be kidding me!" Peter scoffed in realization, as he stood up, stepping in front of Uzi to protect her, pulling out his blasters again. He looks behind her, as his mask is donned on him once again. "You got another shot in that gun, kid?"
"It still needs about a half-hour to charge!" Uzi grabbed the gun, as she saw the charging time, labeled thirty minutes. The drone began to eerily walk towards the drone and the Star Lord, like a zombie.
"Since when does a gun take that long to charge up?!" Peter yelled, aiming his blasters at the drone.
"Bite me! This is the first gun I ever made! Go easy on me!" Frantically, Uzi looked around to see whatever she could use as a weapon.
"Alright, just stay close to…" Peter placed his fingers on the triggers, but Uzi shoved him aside, armed with a disembodied… well, arm, charging towards the drone. "Uzi, wait!"
"GRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Uzi let out a battle cry, running towards the drone, preparing to swing the arm at it. She took aim, and swung as hard as she could.
THUNK!
The arm slapped across the drone's face, as Uzi breathed heavily. Peter quickly rushed over to her, looking concerned.
"Kid, you okay?" He asked.
"Ugh, shut up! I'm fine!" Uzi was still catching her breath, as she turned away from Peter.
"Did you just slap me with that arm?" A male voice asked, as both Peter and Uzi looked towards where it came from, letting out a scream. The Murder Drone was merely staring at them, smiling as if there wasn't a care in the world.
"Did…did… did that thing…?!" Peter stuttered, stepping back, aiming one of his blasters at the male Murder Drone.
"J-j-just talk?!" Uzi sounded just as surprised as Peter. The drone began to scratch his head, where the arm hit it.
"Yeah, sorry," He spoke, trying to ease the pain on his forehead. "I've got a bit of a headache." As he rubbed, he began to eye Peter and Uzi skeptically. "Wait a minute… I know what's going on here…" Squinting his golden eyes, he leaned closer, placing a finger on his metallic chin.
"Uhhh, y-you do?" Uzi asked, still stuttering on her words.
""You must be the new rookie for the squad!" The drone smiled, as he pointed to Uzi. Then, he looks up to Peter. "And you must be the delivery man!"
"Delivery man?" Peter was confused at the drone's assumptions.
"From HQ,, obviously. I mean, that is why you're here, right? I mean, no human would come out here of their own free will! Heh heh!" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Peter. Uzi looks up to Peter, as they know what to do next.
"Uhhh, yeah, totally!" Peter said, sarcastically, lying to the peppy robot. "Uhh, your employer, uh, hired the Guardians of the Galaxy to, uh… transport this very dangerous killing machine to this planet!"
"Woooooaaaah!" The drone was enthralled by the name. "'Guardians of the Galaxy?' Sounds super cool and heroic!"
"Yyyyyep! That's right!" Uzi smiled innocently, as she played along with Quill's lie. "I'm one of the new, er, dismemberment drones…"
"Disassembly Drones?" The drone asked, correcting her.
"YES! That's it! I'm from the new line of Disassembly Drones from JCJenson." Uzi nodded. But the drone still felt suspicious towards her.
"Hmmm, if that's true, then why are you the exact same height and form of a Worker Drone…?" He questioned, pondering.
"It's because, uh, it's so she can blend it with the workers!" Peter called, helping Uzi out. "That way, she can camouflage within the pact and they become easy targets."
"Oooooooooooh, that makes so much sense now!" The drone's suspicious looks quickly faded, as he smiled some more. "In that case, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Serial Designation N! Let's just say that I'm the leader of the squad around here." N smirked, as he saluted them. Peter and Uzi both blew sighs of collective relief.
"Oh, uhh, Peter Quill." Peter held his arm out, as N gladly shook it. "But other people call me Star-Lord."
"Ooooh, love the nickname!" N became starry-eyed at the name, shaking Peter's arm. "But my company policy sorta forbids nicknames, so you don't mind me calling you Peter, right?"
"Uhh, well, not at all. You're more than welcome to." Peter shook his head, as N looked down at Uzi.
"And you are?" He asked, causing Uzi to gulp and stutter.
"Oh, uhh, it's Uzi… Doorman..." She said softly, hoping that the drone didn't bite her head off, and also hoping that nobody heard her last name.
"Man, I'm so jealous! You guys have such cool names! Well, I guess that is to be expected when you're in the first prototype of Disassembly units, with only letters as names." N smiled cheerfully.
"Soooo, you don't remember anything that happened?" Peter asked. "Like in the last ten minutes or so?"
"Hmmm…" N pondered, as that was a good question. "I can't seem to remember… But I'm sure it'll fix itself momentarily!"
"Alright, well, in that case," Uzi chimed in, as she began to walk back away from N. "I think Peter was going to finish up the, uhh, delivery!"
"R-r-right! So we're just gonna… get her to her destination." Peter began to nudge Uzi towards the hole in the spire, as N began to wave farewell.
"Sounds good! Good luck!" called N, as he then noticed a massive scar on Uzi's arm. "Hey, you okay? That scar looks pretty nasty."
"Huh? Oh, right, my arm…" Uzi realized the scar from the syringe, as it began to leak a bit of oil, as she clutched onto it.
"Eh, happens to the best of us!" N said, inspecting the injury. "Just give your arm a good lick!"
"Uhhhh, why would she wanna do that?" Peter asked, sounding disgusted.
"Oh, it's because our saliva neutralizes the nanite acid, in case of emergencies. You do know that, right?" He looks back at Uzi, raising an eyebrow curiously, as Uzi stutters.
"Uh, well, since, we… blend in with the Worker Drones as camouflage, we're not exactly… equipped with that saliva…"
"Ahhhhh, I get it. In that case, lemme patch you guys up in my landing pod! Well, not exactly mine, but you get the picture." N jumped behind Peter and Uzi.
"Well, we appreciate the offer, really…" Peter gulped, as N landed behind them, escorting them to the landing pod. "But we don't wanna be intrusive…"
"No no no, I insist! I love doing anything, especially being a good host to some new friends." N chuckled, as he pushed both Uzi and Peter towards the landing pod, laying in the moonlight. "Lemme give you guys the grand tour!"
"Just stay close, Uzi," whispered Peter. "Hopefully, the other Guardians will come to help us out." Uzi nodded.
"Oooooooh, I love whispering. What are we talking about?" N joined in, still smiling at his potential new buddies.