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 Four
Questioning the Company
now falling around them, the Guardians stood their stances, as J and V circled them, like a pair of hungry predators, scouting their meal. Donning their weapons, they kept their eyes on the two drones, in case they tried any shady tactics.
"The hell are you?" Gamora cautiously asked, still ponting her sword at the drones.
"Aww, don't be scared." J teased, smirking deviously. "Your arrival here is just as much a shock to us, as it is to you."
"Yeah, like," V chimed in. "There hasn't been a living being here in ages!"
"Well, can't say I blame 'em!" Rocket glared. "This place is as flarkin' cold as a blizzard on Contraxia!"
"I am Groot!" Groot roared, as J raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, relax." She said, still keeping her cool. "We're not going to kill you, branch. As long as you all are willing to comply…"
"Wait, you can understand the tree beast?" Drax was astonished by the seamless translation.
"Us Disassembly units are equipped with universal translators. Obviously." J pointed to her head, tapping it, as her visor changed to show that the translator option is turned on.
"Yeah? Well, it doesn't take a translator to know a pair of freaky, pieces of robotic scut, when I see 'em." retorted Rocket, causing J to give him a disappointed look.
"Ooooh, big talk from a rodent who's going to end up as roadkill!" V snickered, as she smiled in a sinister manner. Rocket snarled at her remake, and attempted to aim his blaster at her, but J intervened in the miniature conflict.
"No, V!" J turned to her ally, shaking her head. "Stop antagonizing the vermin!"
"What did you just say, you flarkin–!" Rocket was ready to drop the gun and pounce on the drones, but Groot managed to put his hand in front of him.
"I am Groot!" The Flora Colossus looked down at his friend, shaking his friend. Baring his teeth in fury, Rocket nodded to his best friend and stood his ground, though he was still glaring at the drones in disgust.
"Grrrr, fine. But if they call me rodent or vermin again, I swear to God!" Rocket sighed, as he decided to follow Groot's advice and stepped away from the drones.
"But we're getting sidetracked here." said J, as she placed both of her hands on her hips, giving the Guardians an interrogating look. "What brings you to this exoplanet, and why?" The Guardians looked at each other, as the drones awaited their answer.
"We… received a distress call." Gamora said. "Our ship got a call that someone here needed our help."
"A distress signal?" J raised an eyebrow in suspicion, as she began to chuckle at Gamora's words. "Well, I can assure you that there's nobody in distress here. It was probably just a mistake by one of my… pathetic accomplices."
"I believe you are wrong, drone." Drax spoke up, sounding more serious. "The distress signal we received sounded rather… terrified."
"Nah, I haven't seen any being on here, 'cept for those lowlife Worker Drones." V casually stated, picking her teeth with her claw.
"Then perhaps it would be one of these 'Worker Drones' who may have called for our assistance." Drax stated, causing J to feel more suspicious of the group.
"Wait, so lemme get this straight," V smiled deviously, as she placed a finger on her chin, remembering something crucial. "Are you trying to say that a Worker Drone asked for your help?"
"I mean, I wouldn't be surprised." Gamora gestured to the spires around them. "Look around you. You must've slaughtered hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of them!"
"Them?" J scoffed, not even paying attention to the severity of the situation. "They all had it coming. We were under direct orders to disassemble them."
"By whom? Thanos?!" Gamora began to sound more furious in her voice. "You're slaughtering an entire race, whether they're inorganic or not!"
"I don't have any information of this 'Thanos' character, but my orders come from the higher ups of JCJenson Incorporated." Crossing her arms, she began to give an impatient glare at the Guardians. "Our prime directive is to disassemble these corrupted workers for disobeying their protocols. As well as anyone who gets in our way." Baring her fangs, the Guardians began to ready themselves for combat.
"Threaten us all you'd like, witch!" Drax spat, unsheathing his knives, aiming one at them. "But I've fought more dangerous opponents than some mechanical demons!"
"Oooooh, a demon!" V mocked Drax the Destroyer, making her voice sound more serious and masculine. "Like we haven't been called that before." She, herself, unsheathed her razor-like claws.
"Then how 'bout we call ya 'Steaming Pile of' Scrap' instead?" Rocket roared, as he aimed his weapon at V, ready to take some shots at the cocky disassembly unit.
"Finally, I was itching for a fight!" V smirked maliciously, as her eyes became a golden X, as she and the Guardians prepared to battle. But as they were about to begin combat…
"Not so fast, V." J grabbed the hem of her jacket, keeping V in place. "Let me take care of this… professionally.
"Ugh, seriously, J?" sighed V, as she rolled her golden eyes, sounding annoyed. "Can we just skip the boring shit this one time?"
"That so-called 'boring shit' is called being professional, and we don't kill living beings unless they interfere with our work." J dusted the snowflakes off her suit-like dress, crossing her arms at her associate. "You're just as bad as N, sometimes."
"Ugh! Whatever!" V retracted her claws, as she turned away from J, feeling dejected that she didn't even get to fight.
"So, where was I?" J pondered where she left off earlier and looked back to the Guardians. "Ah, yes. We are designed to kill those who interfere with official JCJenson business. All five of you being on this exoplanet alone is punishable by disassembling." The others were astounded that the drones knew about Peter.
"How did you…" Gamora asked, glaring at the drones. "Were you spying on us?"
"Standard procedure." J stated, like a literal machine. "We should kill each and every one of you as punishment… but here at JCJenson, we're all about compromises, so it would be wise for you all to take our deal."
The Guardians were hesitant on J's proposal, as they looked at each other in worry. Rocket stepped forward, clearing his throat.
"What deal are you makin', exactly?" He asked, sounding a bit hesitant.
"That all of you, including this 'Star-Lord' character, are going to leave this exoplanet and never return. Or else you'll be disassembled by me and V."
"Like flark we're takin' this shady deal of yours!" Rocket snarled. Smirking deviously, J began to walk towards them, scaling Rocket easily.
"Allow me to demonstrate." Then, J reaches down and grabs Rocket by the throat, lifting him to her level. Rocket, gasping for air, tried to take hold of J's titanium fingers, as he kicked the cold air.
"Rocket!" Gamora stepped forward, alongside Groot and Drax.
"I am Groot!" Groot roared, demanding that the drone would release his partner. J used her other hand and converted it to her claws, as she looked towards them.
"Let. Me. Finish." J seethed menacingly, as she turned back to the choking raccoon. "If you or your crew ever return to Copper Nine, we will not hesitate to hunt down and murder each and every one of you. Do we have a deal?" Rocket fought with all he could, cause he knew he would never accept that offer, even with his own life on the line.
"I AM GROOOOOT!" Groot yelled, as his cry echoed across the cold winds, silencing the worrisome calls of Drax and Gamora. J understood what the floral colossus said, as she smirked.
"Wise choice." She said, merely tossing Rocket to the ground, as he gasped for air, clutching his furry neck. Groot rushed over and knelt down to check up on him.
"I am Groot?" He asked, as Rocket was still recovering from his near-death experience.
"I'm alright, bud," He spat, still rubbing his neck, looking up at his partner in crime. "You shouldn't have taken that deal…"
"I am Groot!" Groot reassured him, as he helped him get up.
"At least the tree has some form of sense." J teased, as her visor showed a countdown of thirty minutes. "We will allow you thirty minutes to return to your ship and leave Copper Nine. This will apply to your human leader as well." Rocket, Groot, Drax and Gamora remained silent, as they saw the drones release their wings and began to fly into the air. "Let's go, V. Let's go see what 'synergistic liability' is doing." J took off into the fog, toward the spires, as V looked down at the Guardians.
"So long, dorks!" V shouted, as she flew off into the fog, leaving the visitors on their own. The eerie winds returned, while Drax and Gamora looked towards Rocket and Groot.
"Why did you take her proposition, tree?!" Drax commented, sounding furious. "I could have easily taken those androids on!"
"Drax, those things are incredibly dangerous!" Gamora criticized her teammate. "If Groot hadn't stepped in, Rocket would've suffocated!"
"I've seen the rodent fare through worse, assassin." Drax rolled his eyes.
"But if those things caused that beacon…" Gamora gestured to the spiral in the fog, where that massive green beacon was shot from earlier. "We need to find Peter and get the hell out of here!"
"I am Groot!" Groot nodded, but Rocket jumped out of his arms and stood up.
"Oh, no no no!" He shook his, looking disappointed in Groot. "After all the flarkin' shit I had to endure, I ain't leaving this iceball until I put a bullet in each of those flarkin' drones' skulls!"
"Yes!" Drax cheered, patting Rocket's back. "Let us battle them, then! They shall meet a legendary demise from Drax the Destroyer!"
"I am Groot…?" Groot sounded worried, as Rocket shrugged it off.
"So what if we made some flarkin' promise to those tin cans? They were prolly gonna kill off Quill either way!"
"That's a possibility…" Gamora nodded, thinking of the possibility of the drones betraying their word. "Still, if we're not retreating to the ship, we should try to get into contact with Peter, at least."
"Then we are in unanimous agreement!" Drax called, as he led the team towards the spires, wielding his daggers. "Let us find and rescue Peter Quill!"
"If those drones don't get to 'im, first." Rocket retorted, running on all fours in the snow, following the team into what most would consider a suicide mission.
"Ugh, do you really have to lick it like that?" Peter feels disgusted, as he sees N licking up Uzi's scarred wrist. But Peter wasn't the only one disgusted by this, as Uzi was looking away, closing her eyes and gritting her titanium teeth.
"Thawwy!" N muttered, his tongue preventing him from talking regularly, as the nanite-infused saliva was dripping on Uzi's arm. Then, he finished licking, as the saliva was already mending Uzi's wound, almost as if there was no scar. "Aaaannnnd done!" Uzi looked back to give Peter an embarrassed look.
"If you tell anyone about this, you will regret it." Her tone became dead serious, while Uzi pulled her sleeve back down over her wrist. Peter nodded to her, understanding her reasoning, but N heard what she said.
"Oh, don't worry. You know what they say, what happens on Copper Nine stays on Copper Nine!" N attempted to make himself look cool for his new friends.
"Who the hell even says that?" Uzi retorted.
"Oh, uhh, well…" Caught off-guard, he tried to find a way to back his saying. "Doesn't anyone say… Er, never mind." The drone felt a bit defeated, as he sighed out of embarrassment. Peter decided to try to move past that and looked around the desolate, busted up ship they were sheltered in. Hey, at least it's warm in there.
"So, this is your place, huh?" asked Peter, seeing the broken buttons, screens and puddles and patches of dried up oil from over the years. "Looks… uh, cozy?"
"Oh, thank you!" N smiled, seemingly forgetting his anguish from not one minute ago. "It's not much, but please make yourselves at home! Mi casa eh su casa!"
"Suuuuuure, uh," Uzi looked around the room, seeing the rusted, decaying landing pod interiors. "So, about this squad you mentioned… Are they coming back soon?"
"Oh, yeah, two others." N held up two fingers, as he sat back in his seat. "They should be back by now… though I wonder what's taking them so long?"
"Well, why don't you tell us about them?" Peter asked. "Are they a lot like you?"
"Oh, well, they're not exactly like me, but you guys would love them!" N leaned back and began to reminisce about the good times he had with his fellow disassembly drones. "First, there's V. She's cunning, vicious, merciless… and that jacket makes her look incredible." As he talked more and more, hearts began to appear on his visor. "Ahhhh, V… Even if you forget my name, you're still…"
"Uhh, N?" Uzi waved her hand, hoping to snap N out of his stupor.
"Huh? Wait, you didn't hear any of that, did you?!" N panicked, placing a hand over his face, as his visor showed blushing out of embarrassment. "Biscuits…"
"Hey, it's alright, we won't tell anyone." reassured Peter. "I mean, what happens on Copper Nine, right?" N smiled upon hearing that.
"Hey, it's catching on!" He chuckled wholeheartedly, as he got himself back on track with what he was saying. "And then, there's our leader, J. She's just plain awesome! Even though she calls me terrible, useless and a synergistic liability." Uzi and Quill looked at each other with a confused and worried look.
"Aaaaaaand that doesn't bother you?" Uzi scratched her head, beginning to feel worried for the murderous robot. "In any way?"
"Why would it? Honesty is the best policy." N blankly stated, still keeping his chipper attitude.
"Really? Cause it seems like she and V don't really give a flark about you." Peter pointed out, as N's eyes shrank in surprise upon hearing that.
"Naaaaaaaw, that's not true. J and V are cool with me. We're like three peas in a pod! Or something like that…"
"Hey, I was with the Ravagers, N. I can tell when someone is being used. And I can tell that you, as well as your disassembly units are being used to murder these poor, innocent drones." N looked worried upon hearing that, as he held a finger over his mouth, shushing Peter.
"Uhhh, I wouldn't say that stuff in front of J, if I were you, Peter." He stuttered nervously. "J really hates it when we break the rules."
"I mean, Quill has a point, though." Uzi joined in, standing up in her seat. "Just look around you! All the bodies that you and your team caused over the last fifteen years! Why not try to work with our, er, uh, with the Worker Drones instead?"
"Because my employer said that my job was to kill and murder the workers on sight?" N raises an eyebrow in confusion. "I mean, I just wanted to try my best and…"
"And what, tearing apart innocent lives?!" Peter began to sound a bit more agitated. "All because your high and mighty superiors told you to?!" N felt offended and heartbroken at the harsh words that Peter muttered. Uzi began to see where this was starting to go, as she stepped down from the chair.
"But… I was only…" As N was trying to explain, Peter yelled once more.
"IF YOUR COMPANY TOLD YOU TO KILL AN INNOCENT KID, WOULD YOU DO IT?! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THE CHITAURI BASTARDS WHO KILLED MY MOM!" Peter Quill growled, as he placed both his hands on his elemental blasters, but Uzi tried to push Peter away from a terrified N.
"Woah, Peter!" She shouted, trying to keep everything from getting ugly. "I understand that you're upset about all this, but we don't wanna do something drastic! Let's just go and 'finish the delivery,' okay?" Peter looked down at the worried teen, as he breathed heavily, still fuming at the scared and shaking disassembly drone. He took a deep breath and sat down in Uzi's seat, placing his hands on his face.
"You're right…" Peter felt guilty of what he did, as a tear shed down his eye. Uzi noticed the tear and felt sorry for the Star-Lord. N, however, felt the most guilty, as Peter's harsh words rang into his head over and over, causing him to overthink his protocols. "Sorry about that, N. It's just… a lot to take in and I got… overemotional."
"I…" N tried to find the words to say, as he looked back to Peter and Uzi, placing his hand on his back, patting it reassuringly. "I never thought of my prime directive that way… I'm so sorry, Peter…"
KATHUNK! THUMP!
A series of bumps and clatter above them, caused the emotional atmosphere to be replaced with fear, as Uzi and Quill gulped nervously at the sound.
"We need to leave." Peter muttered, as he stood up, equipping his red-eyed mask, standing close to Uzi. "Now!"
"Wait, don't you guys wanna meet V and J?" N asked, still having the lingering words in his mind. "Maybe we can ask J if she can help…?" But as he turned, Peter and Uzi had vanished, as the cold winds of the exoplanet entered the open door of the landing pod.
Meanwhile, Uzi and Peter were making their way to the entrance of the spire, as quickly as they could. Through the cold winds they ran, as the eerie moonlight lit up the ground, their shadows extending to the walls of corpses around them. However, as they reached the entrance, a winged figure landed before them, causing an impact of snow and metal scrap to fly around it.
"Get behind me, kid." whispered Peter, as Uzi did as he said, grasping her railgun, still glowing red from the last shot she made from it. The winged figure slowly got up, as she retracted her wings back into her body, as she got her first look at Quill.
"So, this is the infamous Star-Lord that I heard so much about…" The ponytail drone smirked, crossing her arms, leering her yellow eyes at Peter.
"I, uh, don't suppose you'd want an autograph?" He asked, hoping to take her attention away from Uzi.
"Don't be a fool, Quill." J demanded, her voice sounding serious and devious. "I already know about you and your motley crew."
"You d-do?"
"And let's just say, you're just about the strangest group of misfits I had ever laid my digital eyes on." J sneered, as she rolled her eyes. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm Serial Designation J. Head of the Disassembling Department of JCJenson Inc."
"Uhh, pleasure to meet you." Peter breathed heavily, as he held out his hand to shake, but J glared at his attempt of professionalism.
"I see. Well, at least you have some form of tact, unlike your crew." J scoffed, reluctantly accepting his handshake. "Anyway, as I was saying..."
"Yo, J!" V shouted, as everyone turned to her direction, seeing the vicious drone climbing on the wall like an arachnid . She pointed her blade down to Uzi, as she bared her fangs in hunger. "Worker alert!" She picks up the small drone, lifting her by the hood of her sweater.
"Hey! Lemme go!" Uzi struggled to punch and kick the tall drone, but was quite out of reach. "Ugh, bite me!"
"So, should I get rid of the worker, or…" V asked, but a voice interrupted her question.
"Worker? Where?!" N looked around, as he followed where V was pointing, seeing Uzi. "Oh, it's okay, V. She's with us!" He shouted innocently, as J stopped dead in her tracks, slowly turning towards the peppy drone with a furious glare.
"Excuse me?" She scolded, her voice sounding poisonous. "The worker drone is with you?!"
"Yep! Er, well, she only looks like one." N pointed out, not aware of J's abusive stance. "She's part of the new Disassembly line from the robotics lab!"
"I never got any indication of any new Disassembly Drones arriving here…" J suspiciously raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that information?"
"Peter Quill told me. He told me that he and the Guardians were hired by the company to deliver Uzi!" Unlike her male employee, J began to connect the dots and quickly figured out that little ruse.
"Oh, really?" J smirked deviously, as she slowly turned back to Peter, giving off a sort of 'Oh, you're so dead' vibe. One of her eyes glowed as a small X, as her right hand retracted and released what seemed to be a missile launcher from her metallic sleeve. Peter gulped nervously, as he reached for one of his blasters, aiming them at J.
"Wait, J, what are you doing?" N asked, his voice turning more shocked. "He's on our side!"
"Are your circuits fried, you moron-bot?!" J roared, looking back at N in rage. "This human is clearly not with JCJenson! He and his misfit group are here to save these pathetic workers! He lied to you!"
"Whaaaaaaat? OUR Peter? Don't be ridiculous, J. He would never do such a thing. Heheheh…" However, his laughter was met with silence from everyone, which caused him to realize what was actually going on. He turned to Peter, his eyes looking more surprised. "...Right?" Peter had to come clean to N at this point.
"Sorry, kid," Peter apologetically nodded, as he kept his blasters aimed at J. "No hard feelings, right?"
"But… but… Friends... don't lie to... other friend... betrayed... guardian... biscuits... trampoline... " Clutching his chest, N became more panicked and anxious upon hearing that small confession. He didn't wanna believe that the first actual friends he had made in over a decade would betray his trust. Overwhelmed with grief and shock, the Murder Drone overloaded with anxiety and fainted, hitting his head on the landing pod with a loud bang. He wasn't dead or anything, just in sleep mode. V winced at the impact, as she looked back to J, pointing her claw at him.
"Should we, ummm…" She was going to suggest, but J intervened, silencing the drone.
"Leave him! He's a lost cause, anyway." J commanded, as she looked back at Peter, as her missile launcher began to warm up. "As for you… Trespassing on JCJenson property, impersonating an official of JCJenson and interfering with our protocol of disassembling worker drones?" She clicked her tongue in disappointment. "Your fellow Guardians were smart to back away, but it looks like they'll be one member short." The launcher began to brighten, as Uzi's eyes lit up in horror.
"Peter!" She cried out, kicking and punching the air, hoping to get free, but V kept her off the ground.
"Get a good look, worker, and enjoy the fireworks!" V said maliciously, giggling evilly.
"Any last words, Peter Quill?" J giggled vindictively, as she was about to fire on the human. Peter was about to fire from his own blasters at J. The question was who can pull their trigger the fastest. However, before either could fire upon each other…
"I… AM… GROOOOOOOOOOT!" The call of the Floral Colossus rang from outside, as J looked toward the direction where the roar originated. Seeing one of the entrances of the spire were a group of familiar faces.
"Guys! You made it!" Peter called in relief, seeing his team alive and well.
"Haha! Success! Peter Quill has yet to perish!" Drax lets out a hearty laugh, glad to see his leader in one piece.
"You?!" J was flabbergasted, not expecting to see the Guardians again. Furious, she aimed her charged blaster at the four. "You backed out of our deal!"
"Look who's talkin,' toolbox!" Rocket spat back, holding his shotgun-like blaster with his two claws, leering at J.
"Grrrrrr!" The leader of the Murder Drones growled, her eyes looking more frantic and deranged. "I should've killed you all the first chance I got!"
"Try us!" Gamora wielded her sword, her black-hole like eyes locked onto J menacingly. J became more than tempted to fire at the Guardians, but Peter found this as an opportunity.
"Allow me!" Peter said, as he tackled J, causing her to aim upward, firing her missile to the top of the spire. The missile fired high, as it shot at a part of the cavernous spire, as worker parts rained down from the sky, on top of V.
"Hey, ow! Like, watch the jacket, J!" V tossed Uzi away and quickly flew away from the impact of the falling debris. Uzi groaned in a bit of pain, as she stood back up, still not believing what she was even seeing.
"Shut up and help me!" J roared, as she retracted her launcher in exchange for a claw, but Peter pressed a button on his mask, allowing his jet boots to activate and hovered him in the air, right at the very moment J swung, causing her to get more enraged. Hovering high, Peter looked around to see Uzi, as he pointed to the entrance closest to her.
"Get to safety, kid! We'll cover you!" Peter called, his voice echoing across the chamber, as Uzi nodded in understanding, picking up her railgun and retreating to the entrance. Peter flew close to the Guardians, holding out his blasters once more.
"Uhh, J? The worker?!" V pointed to the running worker drone, but J had her eyes set on Quill.
"Forget about it! We have bigger targets!" She snarled, causing V to roll her eyes in annoyance once more, as she reluctantly landed next to J, preparing herself for battle. "I'm going to enjoy ripping each and every one of you apart!" She smiled sadistically, sounding more psychotic by the second.
""Not as much as I'll enjoy makin' back scratchers outta yer body parts!" Rocket smiled as well, licking his teeth in anticipation of the battle he was craving. Peter pulled his tape player out, as he pressed play on the small device, as rock music began to blare in his helmet.
(Music: Zero to Hero by Star-Lord Band)
"Alright, gang!" He called out, as everyone, including J and V, took their battle stances. "CHAAARRRRRGE!"