"The sudden reappearance of Peter Quill's father, Ego, brought much trepidation to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Was this someone they could trust? And would this mark the beginning of the end for the team as a whole…?"
"You're leaving me with these animals!?" Nebula exclaimed when morning broke the next day. It was decided that Quill, Gamora, and Drax would go with Ego and Mantis back to his home planet while Batch 89 and Groot stayed behind to repair the Milano.
Gamora rolled her eyes at her sister's demeaning remarks and looked to Rocket as he used nano-spray to slowly fix the ship. "Shoot her if she does anything suspicious," she said. "Or if you feel like it."
"Okay…" Rocket mumbled.
"Floor will make sure blue sister is secured, Gamora!" Floor called, hopping in front of Nebula and brandishing her knife.
Gamora smiled at the rabbit's antics before looking to Groot, the tree kid looking down at his friends leaving. "Hey. It'll just be a couple of days. We'll be back before Rocket and Teefs have finished fixing the ship," Gamora promised.
"Are you sure you don't want me coming along?" Lylla asked.
"They're going to need your medical expertise more than we will," Gamora said.
"What if the Sovereign come?" Drax asked.
"Don't worry. There's no way for them to know that we're here, "Quill assured him.
"I'm uncertain about us parting ways," Drax stated.
"God, you're like an old woman," Quill groaned.
"Because I'm wise?" Drax guessed.
Gamora shook her head as she looked at all of Drax's bags. "Why do you have so much luggage?"
"I don't want Groot playing with my things," Drax answered.
Rocket stopped his repairs to say one last thing to Quill. "I hope daddy isn't as big of a dick as you are, orphan boy."
Quill looked shocked by the raccoon's words. "What is your goal here? To get everybody to hate you? Because it's working."
"I already had my crew before you guys, Quill! At least they trust me on my word!" Rocket said.
As the other Guardians left in Ego's ship, Lylla looked to Rocket with a sigh. "Are you going to keep being mad at Quill, Rocket? You two should just talk this out instead of yelling at each other."
"I'll stay mad at Star-Munch until he apologizes for accusing me of stealing those batteries," Rocket retorted.
The otter huffed and crossed her arms. "Well then, if you're going to stay like this I'll be taking Groot for some basic learning exercises then. When you decide to stop being such a… such a…"
"Asshole?" Nebula suggested.
"Stubborn raccoon, then you can talk to me again," Lylla said, shooting Nebula a dirty look before picking up Groot and walking away.
"Oh, Lylla's using that tone of voice," Teefs noted. "I've heard her use it against our bounties before, but never against you, Rocket."
"She'll get over it… She always does…" Rocket said, less so to Teefs and more so to himself.
[***]
As night fell on the planet, Rocket continued his repair work, singing "Southern Lights" to himself as he went along. Unbeknownst to him or the rest of Batch 89, Yondu's Ravagers were surrounding the Milano, having tracked the ship down in order to capture the Guardians at the request of the Sovereign. One of the Ravagers killed a nearby spider and started eating it as they closed in on the ship… only to stop when his foot pressed down on a hidden switch laid out on the ground.
Instantly multiple boxes tied to nearby trees opened up, launching tranquilizer darts out that took out one entire squad of Ravagers. Lylla flinched as she heard the sound of gunfire from one of the dropped weapons, looking to the prerecording Rocket had set up within the ship. "Don't worry, Groot. I'll keep you safe in here while Rocket, Floor, and Teefs take care of the bad guys outside," Lylla assured Groot as she held him close.
Outside the ship, Rocket and Floor were up in the trees, distracting the Ravagers down below so they couldn't see the obvious traps they were walking into. Once everyone was in position, Rocket pulled out a switch and activated it, causing a gravity mine to go off and launch an entire squad up into the air before coming crashing back down to earth. The raccoon laughed as he set off each mine one-by-one, watching with glee as the Ravagers were left in a heap on the floor.
"Oh, let Floor go next!" Floor giggled, hopping off to another squad of Ravagers. The rabbit jumped down on one of their backs and slapped a device Rocket had made onto his face, before quickly hopping between each Ravager and doing the same. With the press of a switch Floor activated the taser tags, shocking the squad into unconsciousness.
"Great job, Floor!" Rocket praised, jumping down and giving his friend a high five.
Their victory was short-lived, however, as another group of Ravagers came out of the bushes to surround them. "Ain't so tough now without all your toys, are you?" one of the Ravagers said.
Rocket just smirked. "Have you ever wondered what getting hit by two tons on wheels feels like?" he asked.
"…What?" the Ravager questioned, before screaming in terror as Teefs came out of nowhere and bowled him over, the walrus spinning on a dime and pulling out his plasma cannon to take down the other Ravager with the blaster as well.
"And that's how the walrus rolls," Teefs said.
"Yes! We beat them all!" Floor cheered.
"Now all we have to do is tie these guys up and we can-" Rocket said, before stopping himself as a whistle came to his ears and a Yaka arrow was sitting right between his eyes. "…Crap."
Yondu laughed as he came out of the woods with more Ravagers. "Hey there, rat," he greeted.
"How's it going, you blue idiot?" Rocket sighed as the trio put their hands up in surrender.
"Not so bad. We got ourselves a pretty good little gig here. This golden gal with quite a high opinion of herself has offered us a large sum to deliver you and your pals over to her because she wants to kill y'all," Yondu explained, making the other Ravagers laugh.
Back at the Milano, Lylla was still waiting with Groot and Nebula for the trio to return. "Your friends need help. There's too many of them," Nebula said.
"Rocket can handle it. He always comes out on top in these situations," Lylla stated.
"If you care about him, you'll let me help. They are going to kill him if you don't!" Nebula argued.
"And why should I trust you!? You're an assassin of Thanos and have tried to kill us before! How do I know you won't just kill me if I set you free!?" Lylla shouted.
"My sister was also a daughter of Thanos and you trust her," Nebula pointed out.
"That's different. Gamora has proven she can be trusted," Lylla argued.
"And the other Guardians don't trust any of you while you stand by the rodent's side," Nebula retorted. "The small white one trusts me… Don't you trust your friends?"
As Lylla was contemplating what to do, Rocket and the others were being subjected to one of Yondu's monologues. "I tell you, it was pretty easy to find you. I put a tracer on your ship back there during the war over Xandar."
"…Give me the word that you won't hurt Groot or Lylla, and we'll tell you where the batteries are," Rocket bargained.
Yondu chuckled. "Lucky for you, my word don't mean squat. Otherwise, I'd actually hand you over."
"Otherwise you what?" one of the Ravagers questioned.
"We'll take them batteries. They're worth what? A quarter mill on the open market?" Yondu asked.
"That priestess offered us a million. A quarter is only one third of that!" the angry Ravager said.
"A quarter is actually twenty-five percent of a whole," Teefs corrected. "Or one fourth."
"You can't even buy a pair of boots with twenty-five units…" a glasses-wearing Ravager said.
"Enough!" Yondu shouted, shutting everyone one. "The point is, we ain't stupid enough to help kill the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole dang Nova Corps would be on us."
"That ain't right!" the second-in-command of the Ravagers, Kraglin, spoke up. "I just gotta say it this one time, Captain. No matter how many times Quill betrays you, you protect him like one of the rest of us much matter!"
"Yeah!" the Ravagers agreed.
"I'm the one that sticks up for you!" Kraglin shouted.
"Take it easy, Kraglin…" one of the Ravagers warned.
"Damn straight, lad," the angry Ravager agreed. "He's gone soft. Suppose it's time for a change in leadership." He raised his gun to Yondu, causing the other Ravagers to start taking sides between him and Yondu. Rocket, Floor, and Teefs just looked on in confusion as to what was going on here.
"I feel as if I've seen this kind of disagreement play out recently…" Teefs whispered.
"Shut up, Teefs," Rocket muttered, standing up and throwing out his hands. "Woah, woah! There must be some kind of peaceful resolution to this, fellas. Or even a violet one where my crew and I are standing over there."
Just as tension was reaching its peak, a gunshot rang out and Yondu's fin was blown clean off, the Ravager leader falling over to reveal Nebula, holding Lylla's blaster. "Oh, Flark-" Rocket cursed before he, Floor, and Teefs were all swiftly knocked out by a stun blast.
"Well hello, boys," Nebula said before taking a bite from a yaro root… and then spitting it out quickly. "It's not ripe."
"And who are you?" the angry Ravager asked.
"Nebula, daughter of Thanos," Nebula introduced herself. "I'll let you take these three and the two other Guardians back on their ship in exchange for a favor we can discuss after we get off this planet."
"Well then, Ms. Nebula, I think we can make a deal out of that," the angry Ravager grinned.
With that the Ravagers loaded up Batch 89 and Yondu onto their ship as prisoners. While that was happening, another raccoon-like figure was watching from the trees, their robotic eye flickering as they processed the scene below. "Looks like I'll have to change my plans to capture Subject 89P13… but perhaps these pirates can be of use to me," Subject 95Y14 said with a grin as they slipped past the Ravagers and snuck aboard their ship.
[***]
When Rocket came to, he found himself tied to a chair alongside the rest of Batch 89 and Yondu, with Groot held up in a cage above them. The Ravagers were throwing those still loyal to Yondu out the airlock, all being led by the angry Ravager from before.
"This is… barbaric!" Lylla gasped.
"Going out into space is fun… but they do not look like they are having fun," Floor noted.
"This is a perilous situation," Teefs hummed.
"And all because Nebula somehow broke out of her cuffs," Rocket grumbled. He didn't notice Lylla suddenly looking away from him in shame.
"You're the one what killed those men, by leading then down the wrong path. Because you're weak," the angry Ravager said before punch Yondu in the face. "And stupid!" He punched Yondu again. "It's time for the Ravagers to rise once again to new glory with a new captain… Taserface!"
Rocket couldn't stop himself from laughing at that, the others joining in as well and making everyone else go quiet. "I'm sorry. Your name is… It's Taserface?" the raccoon asked.
"…That's right," Taserface nodded.
"Do you shoot tasers out of your face?" Teefs questioned.
"It's metaphorical!" Taserface shouted.
"Yeah!" the Ravagers cheered.
"For what?" Lylla raised.
"For… It is a name what strikes fear into the hearts of anyone what hears it," Taserface explained, getting unsure grumbles from his crew.
"Okay… Whatever you say," Rocket said sarcastically.
Taserface pulled out a knife. "You shut up. You're next, then the rest of your furry friends." He put the Knife to Yondu's face. "Udonta, I have waited a long time to do…" Rocket started snickering. "What!?"
"I'm sorry. I am so sorry! I just keep imagining you waking up in the morning, sir, looking in the mirror and then in all seriousness saying to yourself, "You know what you be a really kickass name? Taserface!"" Rocket said, making the Ravagers snort and try to hold back their laughs. "That's how I hear you in my head! What was your second choice? Scrotum hat?" That got everyone bursting with laughter.
"Friend Rocket tells the best jokes!" Floor laughed.
Taserface shoved the knife near Rocket's face. "New plan. We're killing you first."
Rocket smirked. "Well, dying is certainly better than having to live an entire life as a moronic shitbag who thinks Taserface is a cool name."
"Rocket, please don't antagonize the man with knife… even if his name is Taserface," Teefs chuckled.
"I couldn't agree more, Subject 89P13," a voice with a Scottish accent said, before hopping down from the ceiling onto Taserface's head. The Ravager screamed out as she tried to grab at his assailant, but it was too no avail as he stumbled around into the airlock room. The assailant then hopped off his face and pressed the hatch button, jettisoning Taserface to the same fate as the other loyal Ravagers.
"Rocket! New friend look like you!" Floor gasped.
"Impossible…" Lylla said with wide eyes.
"That one of yer friends, rat?" one of the Ravagers asked, pointing their gun at Rocket.
Rocket stared at the newcomer, as if looking at a cracked mirror version of himself. She was a raccoon just like Rocket, but her left eye had been replaced with a fully robotic one that constantly glowed an eerie red color. She wore an armored suit that was a dull orange color with metal bits on her joints, double barrel pistols strapped to her waist.
"I've never seen her before in my life," Rocket said. 'And she shouldn't exist either. The High Evolutionary already completed his machine, so why is there another one like me…?'
"The name is Subject 95Y14," the female raccoon introduced herself. "But you all can call me "Captain" now. I will be commandeering your vessel so that I can deliver Subject 89P13 to Sire."
"Now wait just a minute…" a Ravager spoke up. "What makes you think you can just come in and kill our captain and put yourself in charge?"
"Because I can give you what you want: payment," Subject 95Y14 replied. "You're only looking to get a million from the Guardians of the Galaxy's bounty? Sire can give you any amount of money for Subject 89P13 that you ask for… within reason, of course. And all you have to do is keep him alive until we arrive in the Keystone Quadrant."
"Oh no…" Rocket said, his ears falling as he realized who had sent this renegade raccoon her.
"S-Sire found us…" Teefs whispered in fear.
"Keystone Quadrant? Ain't that the place where that High Evolutionary fella lives?" one of the Ravagers muttered.
"This must be one of his bounty hunters. We can make it big time we got him paying for this rodent here!" another Ravager said.
"And what about me?" Nebula asked, stepping out and confronting Subject 95Y14. "I had a deal with Taserface, and you just killed him."
"I'm sure we can give you whatever you wish for, daughter of Thanos," Subject 95Y14 said.
"I want new clothes, a new hand, and a ship, plus ten percent of the bounty on the Guardians," Nebula stated her demands.
Subject 95Y14 nodded. "Sure, sure. I can even throw in the bounty on Yondu Udonta for ya. He is wanted in at least twelve Kree star systems after all." She snapped her fingers and pointed at Kraglin. "You there! Get this daughter of Thanos what she wants and give her the wire for when the payment is made. The rest of ya? Throw these two in the brig along with the rest of his defective friends!"
"Yes captain ninety-five-Y… Uh…" Kraglin said before faltering. "Pardon me, 'mam, but you sure got a mighty long name for us to memorize."
"Yeah, it's quite a mouthful," another Ravager agreed.
"That's because she's an illegal experiment. Her "Sire" doesn't give us names," Rocket said.
"We named ourselves," Lylla added.
"Names are unnecessary… but I do like the sound of captain. You may refer to me as that," Subject 95Y14 said.
"Aye, aye, captain!" the Ravagers cheered.
As Yondu was dragged off to the brig, Subject 95Y14 hopped onto Rocket's chair and grinned. "You'll be back home soon, Subject 89P13. Sire has been waiting a long time to get his hands on your mind."
"Screw him," Rocket spat in her face.
"How are you alive? I don't remember another raccoon during our time in that place," Lylla asked.
"I would recall if Rocket had any siblings…" Teefs nodded.
"I am part of the next generation of subjects made in your "lineage," so to speak. Sire saw the potential that having soldiers on your ability could bring, so Batch 95 was created for his next big project," Subject 95Y14 explained. "But I think I've said too much about that."
"Wait!" Floor called, getting the attention of the female raccoon. "Why are you being mean to us? We should be friends! You can sail the forever sky with us!"
"Hah, as if I'd betray Sire with for your false words. He warned me about you trying to sway me," Subject 95Y14 said.
"What we have out here is better than whatever he can give you," Teefs said seriously.
"Yes! You can have a home, a purpose, a name of your own!" Lylla begged.
Subject 95Y14 rolled her eyes. "Again with the name thing. I don't need one! …Although, something Subject 89L06 said got me thinking…" She turned to her new crew, hopping onto Groot's cage and laughing as Batch 89 was dragged away. "Listen up, Ravagers! You wanted a name to call me by, then you can have one! From this day forth, Captain Sale will be leading you to new and greater riches!"
"To Captain Sale!" one of the Ravagers cheered.
"Captain Sale!" the others cheered.
"Well, at least she has a name to go by now…" Teefs shrugged nervously.
Captain Sale grinned, looking down at Rocket and shouting, "By the way… thank you for taking care of those batteries for me, Subject 89P13!"
Rocket gasped. "It was you! You set us up!" He screamed as he was taken down to the brig, dreading filling his being as he knew where this all was going. 'Flark, flark, flark! The High Evolutionary made bounty hunters to come after me, and she even set me up with those batteries! She probably wanted to split up the team, get us alone so she could capture me… I can't believe I'm thinking this, but I wish Quill was here to get us out of this mess right now…'
"Rocket, will we be okay?" Floor asked.
Rocket closed his eyes and hung his head. "I don't know Floor… but what I do know is that we have to get off this ship before Sale. I'm not going to let the High Evolutionary get his hands on us… never again."
"Right. Whatever disagreements we had before, we'll put them aside until we are back with the rest of the Guardians," Lylla nodded. She looked over to Yondu and hummed. "And I think we may just have a new ally to help us get out as well…"
Author's Note
Rocket's in his "being an asshole" mentality at the moment because he's pissed that Quill won't believe him about the battery thing, and now that he plans to ditch the guardians as soon the Milano is fixed, Rocket doesn't feel particularly motivated to try and be on Quill's good side. This is causing some tension between Rocket and Lylla, however, which isn't good for our favorite raccoon as losing his mate would be even worse for his mentality at the moment.
The Ravagers soon show up, and we get to see Teefs and Floor help out Rocket in dealing with them. I really like the idea of Teefs acting as a living battering ram because imagining people getting run over by a speeding walrus makes me laugh every time. Lylla is the one to free Nebula in this timeline, and it's going to cause more problems between the team once that fact gets out. This arc is about testing the bonds between Rocket and the rest of Batch 89 and seeing if they can still be a family together while also being Guardians of the Galaxy.
And finally, Subject 95Y14 meets Batch 89 in spectacular fashion by taking out Taserface and making herself the new leader of the Ravagers, planning on commandeering their ship to deliver Rocket to the High Evolutionary. Thanks to Floor we also get this newcomer's name, which is Captain Sale, a fellow raccoon uplift that first appeared in the 2014 Rocket solo series by Scottie Young, which is where the "Y14" part of her subject number comes from. A few of you guessed she was Sale, so good job!
In the comics, Captain Sale fellow survivor of Halfworld that Rocket meets during that run, but here a I wanted her to be a reflection of Rocket by having similar skills to him but still being loyal to the High Evolutionary. I actually picked out a voice actor who I'd want to play Captain Sale, which is Kelly Macdonald, a Scottish actress who you probably know best as Princess Merida from Pixar's "Brave". Sale having a Scottish accent is a semi-reference to Rocket originally having a cockney accent, but also just because I wanted her to sound unique compared to Batch 89 all having American accents.
Our heroes did try to appeal to Sale, but she's not hearing any of it as they get thrown in the brig with Yondu. This situation is turning into Rocket's worst nightmare, but they're not going to give up trying to escape. Will Yondu help our team out, and is it possible for them to get Sale to turn against her master? Find out next time!