*nervous laughter* Hey there! I know it's been... 4 years... but here's the next chapter? So, a little bit in honor of the new movie being released, but much more thanks to the readers who have stopped by and left their support and encouragement, here we go. :D
I'll keep this short up here, so; more notes at the bottom.
Chapter title is from "Theseus's ship" by The Oh Hellos
This is a fanwork for entertainment only.
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Chapter 19: Like Theseus's Ship (We'll fix the busted bits)
The next morning Peter woke to Drax yanking him out of bed again. In Peter's opinion, the maniac was enjoying his new post as Mantis's unofficial muscle a little too much. Drax's laughter rang against the walls as Peter groaned into the floor and debated the likelihood he would get away with all his limbs unbroken if he gave the larger man a well-deserved kick in a very unpleasant place.
When he managed to wake enough to get his feet under him, he shoo'd the still laughing Drax, and Mantis -who was doing a poor job of covering up her own giggles- out of his room, and got dressed for the day. As he laced up his boots, he couldn't help but dwell on the hope that this might be the last morning he spent here.
"Have they called back yet?" he asked Mantis as he forced his impatient legs to keep to her slower pace during the walk to breakfast.
She gave him a reassuring smile, her patience unflappable. "No, not yet I am afraid, but I am sure they will call any time."
Breakfast came and went without any news, and without an appearance by Nebula, which Peter noted with some concern. She had seemed in a good enough mood when they had parted ways the night before. She had even accompanied him all the way back to the door to his room before heading off down the hallway to what he assumed had been her own room for the night.
Most likely, she was just avoiding her sister.
Gamora seemed to have the same thought. She didn't say anything about her sister's absence, but it was clear enough in the way she'd occasionally look up as though hoping the other assassin may appear at any moment, and then returned to her own food with the barest ghost of a frown.
"Hey Groot?" Peter caught the colossus's attention between bites. "Before we split for the morning... Rocket said something weird last night, and I wanted to ask you about it."
Groot looked up from his own meal, a bowl of water and nutrients which he was largely just toying with. At the sounds of the Raccoon's name his mouth had formed a near perfect straight line. "I am Groot?" he grunted out, his eyes dropping back to his plate.
"Well..." Peter rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand. "He was talking about your time on Half-world."
"I am Groot."
"I know you don't want to talk about that place, but... I need to ask. What happened there?"
"I am Groot," he whuffed out dismissively. The sound of wood creaking echoed through the greenhouse room as he hunched in on himself.
"Well it kinda seems important. He said you... betrayed him or som-"
Groot's fist slammed down on the table, sending plates rattling and tipping over glasses. "I AM GROOT!"
"Hey!" Gamora snapped from where she sat with her own glass lifted high off the table to prevent it from spilling with one hand, and held Mantis's in place with the other.
"Perhaps you should have this conversation elsewhere?" Drax grumbled. His own glass had tipped over onto his plate, ruining his breakfast, and overflowed to spread across the table and drip into his lap.
Groot took a look around to see the state of their breakfast and pulled his arm back off the table. "I am Groot," he huffed under his breath before sliding his chair away from the table and stalking out the doorway, as best a tree could stalk.
Three pairs of eyes turned to stare at Peter expectantly.
"He said he doesn't want to talk about it. At all," Peter told them, returning his attention to his plate and ignoring the water from his own toppled cup which was inching slowly to the far end of the table.
-x-
It turned out Nebula hadn't gone as far as Peter had feared. The younger assassin was waiting for him when he arrived at the seafoam court, already pacing through a series of maneuvers with a silver and copper staff that neatly matched the design of the broadsword of the day before. As Peter and his father approached, she paused in her movements and leaned the weapon against the ground to address them.
"Same as yesterday?" she asked.
Ego gave her a nod, and Peter a shove forward to meet her, before moving to stand off to the side again. "We will undoubtedly be interrupted some time this morning, so rather than move on to the next step, we will review what we were working on until then."
The change in weapons made Nebula's strikes much more rapid, and allowed her to move in and out of range of his counterattacks more fluidly. Peter spun in circles trying to land a hit on her. At one point he thought he had finally outsmarted her when he feinted a dodge to draw her in and grabbed a hold of her staff, shoving as much energy as he could gather through his hands and into the metal pole. As always, she was one step ahead of him, releasing the staff before she could be shocked and cracking him with a solid kick to his chest that knocked the wind from his lungs. She then yanked the no longer charged weapon with ease from his weakened grasp. It was a move very reminiscent of the one she'd used on her sister the evening before.
"It was a good try," she told him as he buckled over and tried not to vomit out his breakfast. "You're using your head, at least."
Peter had no breath to answer so he just gave her a thumbs up in acknowledgment of the hard won praise. And to stall for time.
The sound of heavy footsteps alerted Peter to his father's approach. "It is time to return anyways."
"They're calling?" Peter whipped his head up, suddenly finding his second wind, and scrambled to his feet to strike off in the direction of the main cathedral building. "What are we waiting for?! That's great, let's go!"
-x-
Even in his winded state, Peter beat his less-than-enthused companions back, giving the rest of the Guardians a shout and a wave before ducking into the main building to answer the hail.
"What is taking so long?" Drax asked when he entered the room. The group had slowly filtered in while Peter was still struggling to open the frequency in his excitement. Nebula and Ego were just trailing in behind them when Peter paused to shoot Drax a dirty look.
"Interacting with the planet is still a work in progress." Peter took a moment to recompose himself then tried again. This time the Light in the planet bent to his will, with some coaxing, and the hail opened. The large screen winked to life over their heads. "Aha!" he shouted, springing up to face the man on the other end of the call. "I did it!"
"Star-Lord." Nova Prime Saal stared down at him from the deck of a larger type cruiser. At his side, Marlowe stood at attention, a sizable tablet cradled in one arm.
Peter waved an arm over his head in greeting, not sure how large their screen was on their side. "Hey Saal! Marlowe! What's the news today? When can we leave?"
The Nova Prime's lips pinched into a frown at Peter's informal address. "That is what we would like to determine." He paused to stare at something behind Peter. "Ah. It seems you've been making progress harmonizing your team."
Peter tipped his head at the Prime's statement, and glanced over his shoulder in search of whatever had caught the Xandarian's attention. He was more than a little startled to find Rocket standing in the open space between Nebula and Drax, looking noticeably uncomfortable, but determined. Peter hadn't even realized he was nearby, and nobody had said anything.
"Of course," Nebula snorted in a bold-faced lie that nearly had Peter believing that she had somehow been in on it, if it hadn't been for the faint shift in her tone that Peter was slowly coming to know as her 'completely bullshitting it voice.' "Just as promised."
Rocket twitched his tail once, but made no other move to join the conversation.
"Good," Saal nodded, and Peter did his best to follow his team's lead and put on a straight face as he returned his attention to the monitor. "That will make things easier for everyone."
Marlowe looked up from her tablet to address the screen. "The fleet has a handful of significant weapons at our command, but not nearly enough to launch a full assault so carelessly, especially in space under the established control of Thanos's army. And our crew is limited both in raw numbers and experience. If we are unable to rely on the boost of brute strength the Infinity Stone would lend us, then our best option would be to proceed in stealth and gather information on potential weak spots we can take advantage of before revealing ourselves."
A rude grunt from Drax made it clear what the maniac felt about that.
Stealth was fine with Peter, though. It wasn't too far a cry from the smuggling that had been the bread and butter of his life among the Ravagers. And anyways, as things sat now his crew's skillset was tipped heavily in favor of the assassins.
"What did you have in mind?"
"According to the Agullo Cosmo tracked down, shipments ran on a regular schedule to transport goods, and... fresh laborers to imprisoned planets. Our own research seems to support this as well. We'll need more time to confirm it, but if our data is correct, there should be another transport vessel due in about two cycles." Here she paused to take in a deep breath, a line of worry had made itself at home on her forehead. "It's not enough time, reasonably, but if we miss it, the next shipment may not come for a couple dozen more, and who knows how much will change between now and then..."
"Has Thanos made more progress across the Galaxies?" Nebula asked.
Saal heaved out a sigh. The lines on his face deepened and for just a moment Peter could see how truly exhausted the man was before he regained his composure and, with a subtle shake of his head, returned to the tireless commander he had been a moment before. "He has not claimed any new territory, no, but it seems he's been busy establishing his hold on several of his borders. We've even received some concerning reports of some of his stronger fleets withdrawing from the front lines of his territories. Whatever he's planning, I would prefer to act before he finishes his preparations and makes his next move."
You have some members on your team that, as you mentioned yourself, can provide more in depth information on the workings of Thanos's army, and frankly, we are not in a position to be too... picky about our resources." The Nova Prime very carefully did not look at either Nebula or Rocket, at that last remark, but he didn't need to.
"Please make arrangements to meet with us in half a cycle. Three clicks in from where we exited the belt to transfer you to Ego's planet."
"We won't be meeting on the Starburst?" Peter pried, not sure if what this was implying was more sneaking on Saal's part, or something closer to a direct banishment by the crew if they were leaning more hostile towards the Guardians after their not so graceful or endearing departure.
Saal's heavy frown and the small wrinkle that formed between Marlowe's brows did little to reassure him.
"I think it's best we don't."
-x-
As much as it excited Peter to finally be making some real, tangible progress towards Gamora's parents, the news only darkened Ego's mood and furthered his impatience.
Once the hail closed, Peter hardly got the chance to spin around in search of Rocket, already sucking in a deep breath -for a greeting or an accusation, he hadn't decided yet- before a large hand clamped around his bicep and yanked him nearly off his feet.
"HEY!" he snarled. All the hatred and disgust he held for his father came flooding back at the sudden and unwelcome touch. It had been simmering down the past few cycles, shoved aside by both more pressing concerns and blatant denial, and dulled by familiarity, but now it burned beneath his skin with renewed vigor and set his teeth on edge with the sudden breach of his personal space and autonomy. "What's the big idea!? Let go!"
The hand on his arm tightened painfully as Ego dragged him backwards towards the doorway, not even letting him turn around. "We are out of time to waste."
Peter dug his heels against the marble flooring and twisted in his father's grip, but Ego carried on as though he weighed nothing. The celestial came to an abrupt halt at the door and Peter twisted to see Nebula and Drax had moved to block the entrance. Even Gamora had joined them, standing a little back and just to the side of Drax, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
"I believe I only had one rule for your internment here." Ego's voice was cold and low as he leveled the bodies blocking his way with a warning look. "Think carefully before you break it."
The fingers of Nebula's silver arm twitched and a pale blue light flickered through the labyrinth of panels. Peter took full advantage of Ego's momentary distraction with his friends to compose himself enough to summon a handful of Light which he slammed against the hand still holding him in a bruising grip.
Ego gave a shout and released him, yanking his hand back and flicking the veins of Light off like water.
"YOU UNGRATEFUL-" As suddenly as the rage had overtaken him, Ego seemed to catch himself, biting his tongue mid-sentence. With visible effort that was downright painful to watch, the Celestial reeled himself back into a stiff composure. "Perhaps I was a bit hasty," he ground out through clenched teeth as Peter took several steps back, not sure what was going to come next.
"Perhaps-?" Peter sputtered, bringing one hand up to his shoulder which ached with a forming bruise. "You can't just GRAB people and drag them around however you want! What is WRONG with you!? Were you trying to dislocate my freakin' arm?"
Ego's nose wrinkled and his nostrils flared as he stared stiffly down at Peter as though he were being the ridiculous one here. "Your arm is fine! You're a Celestial, not some fragile-"
"I'm an idiot with a sore shoulder for forgetting how psychotic you are," Peter snapped, rubbing his arm which was beginning to throb. A thread of fear swirled around in his chest and sped his heart as he was reminded of just how large the power gap between them stood. Ego hadn't even meant to harm him, but a moment of forgetting that Peter was flesh and bone, not some immortal avatar of Light, and it had nearly felt like Peter's arm was going to be ripped from its socket. "If you want to train, then fine, that's our deal, but use your goddamned words, and don't touch me again. Ever."
Ego took another slow breath through his nose. "Very well. I expect to see you in the court shortly." He turned sharply away from Peter and stalked through the doorway, his scarf snapping behind him. Drax and Nebula melted from the doorway as he passed.
A rough chuckle from across the room surprised him. He had expected Rocket to be long gone by now, but the raccoon was standing not too far from where he'd been when the call had ended. His arms were crossed and he was laughing unabashedly at the scene before him. When he caught Peter staring at him he just shook his head and grinned unkindly. "You got some real daddy issues there, Stalker-Lord. Guess it's no surprise you'n the wonder twins get along so well after all."
Gamora and Nebula shot him a pair of matching dirty looks while Drax glanced between them, looking caught between challenging Rocket for calling them twins or letting the inaccuracy go in favor of the larger issues at hand. He'd been letting a lot of things go since Peter had woken up on the Starburst, and it was honestly still bothering Peter. He'd expected the maniac to have bounced back by now, and while Drax had been livelier on Ego's planet than the NOVA Corps' ship, he seemed to have plateaued, or possibly withdrawn again since the mention of his home planet.
Again, though, Peter had his own larger issues at hand, so he re-shelved his worries about the older man once more. Drax was perfectly capable of figuring out whatever this was on his own, and he had Mantis and maybe Nebula if he decided he wanted to talk. Peter would just have to rely on that.
"Does this mean you're going to play nice for now?" Peter turned his attention back to Rocket, trying to look more like a confident team leader than the universe's favorite rag-doll he felt like at that moment.
Rocket made a sour face. "I won't shoot you while I see what you have to offer. That's about as nice as I get."
From over his shoulder he heard Nebula scoff like she'd like to see him try. The raccoon flicked his ears back and shot her a quick sour look and flip of an unfortunate finger.
"No explosives, either?" It was more a jest. Peter knew he'd already won and couldn't resist a light jab.
"Yeah, yeah, you namby spoilsport. But don' expect me to be spending any more time than I absolutely have to with your Convicts of the Cosmos-"
"-Guardians of the Galxies."
The interruption only earned him a cold look while Rocket continued. "I've spent too much time here already. I'm gonna be smelling your stink the whole way back across the canyon. Have fun with dear ol' dad."
"Half a cycle!" Peter called after him as he left. "Don't forget!"
-x-
Peter let out a low groan as he entered the seafoam court once again. He'd dragged his feet and kicked pebbles the whole way here, but the walk still felt unreasonably short.
"Stop groaning!" Nebula snapped, looking ready to smack him upside the head. She'd accompanied him back without invitation, and Peter might have thanked her if he wasn't so busy feeling sorry for himself. It was nice to not have to be completely alone with his monster of a father. Her arms were crossed tightly and there was a tense watchfulness to her face as she kept impatient pace with him that made him wonder if watching him be manhandled by his own supernaturally overpowered dad hadn't upset her more than she'd ever admit, even to herself.
"I can't help it," he muttered, shoving his hands into his pocket and narrowing his eyes at Ego who was standing across the marbled expanse, his hands tucked into his sleeves as if he were suddenly cold on the sunny planet. "It's a groaning kind of moment."
"It's pathetic."
"Yeah well..." Peter wanted to inform her that this entire universe was pathetic, but they were nearing the center of the court so he bit his lip and straightened up.
"Peter." Ego met them in the middle, giving Nebula sharp look that made it clear he had not forgiven her for interfering earlier. Nebula tipped her chin up and stared right back, not the least bit apologetic, her arms still crossed.
"Well, we're here." Peter crossed his own arms to match. "So what's so important it can't possibly wait? You wanna watch Nebula beat me up with another new weapon? What's it gonna be this time? A battle axe or twin swords?"
Icey blue eyes narrowed until they looked nearly black. "Your powers are dependent on your connection to the Light."
"Yeah? I know."
"And your connection to the Light is through my Core."
Peter held his arms out. "And...?" They'd been through all of this already.
Ego drew in a breath and let it out in a short huff. "And if you leave this planet, your connection, and subsequently your powers, will grow exponentially weaker."
It was Peter's turn to narrow his eyes. "What do you mean? How much weaker exactly?" He'd known he'd be weaker once he left, but he'd been under the impression it wouldn't be too much of a loss. His father was able to hold his entire body together across countless galaxies, and even do battle with the sovereign without breaking a sweat, after all.
"Without the core, you'll be basically useless."
"Then what was the point of this!?" Peter exploded, unable to contain his frustration.
The Celestial finally pulled his hands from his sleeves and held them out towards Peter. On each palm sat a hunk of deep blue stone. The hairs on the back of Peter's neck prickled as he looked at them.
"What the hell are those?" He took an unconscious step back before catching himself.
"These are pieces of my core. Take them with you wherever you go, and they will act as buoys for your power. You still won't have anywhere near the ease of connection you do here, but as long as you keep practicing and exercising your connection to the Light, your abilities will improve. Even here, you have only barely begun to scratch the surface of your capabilities."
"Oh gross." The memory of a giant brain spinning overhead as Ego explained how his planet worked came to mind and Peter scrunched up his face at the thought of holding pieces of that brain. A sharp pain made him jump as Nebula elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! Okay, Geeze. I'll take them." He held out his own hands for Ego to deposit the brain chunks in, flinching as they hit his palms and expecting them to be rubbery and slimy. Instead, they felt like rocks, smooth and solid, cool on the surface but with a strange warm energy humming from within.
He held them up and stared at them for a long moment, but nothing happened. The faint buzzing of the warm energy didn't change, and as he grew accustomed to it, it wasn't too different than holding the Light he would summon before he shaped it into anything. "So what? I just... carry rocks around in my pocket?"
Ego brought one hand up to his chest and tugged his scarf aside before loosening the top buttons of his shirt. "I typically carry a similar piece in the core of my avatar when I am gone from this planet." His fingers dug into his flesh and peeled back the skin across his collarbone, exposing the body built of blue light and shadowed bones. As Peter looked closely, he thought he could see a stone similar to those in his palms nestled in his father's false heart. "This is what your dog destroyed to send me back here."
He tugged his shirt closed again and settled his scarf back in place. "You may not find it practical to keep them that way, but I would advise keeping them close. Perhaps as a weapon."
Peter frowned down at the stones in his hands, considering his possibilities. The idea of a fantastical sword and shield flashed temptingly through his mind, something like he'd seen on the covers of his comic books as a child. But once he thought about it seriously, he knew only one thing would feel right.
"Okay," he breathed, unable to keep a small smile from his face as he took a couple steps back from Ego and Nebula and felt for the Light. It came to his call almost too eagerly, like it was sensing his excitement, and the stones crackled and spilled out a mass of buzzing energy which twined obediently into a pair of familiar shapes. The details pulled from his mind as clearly as if he were picturing the backs of his own hands. They shaped like putty, fine details of the weapon he had taken apart and pieced back together countless times settling easily into place, and as the light cooled and faded a bright toothy grin split his face.
"Oh yeah, I got my babies back!" he howled as he bounced on the balls of his feet, a blaster in each hand. The case felt different against his palms, just a touch too smooth and a hint heavier than they should be.
He lifted one and aimed it at an empty section of the court. He squeezed the trigger as he thought about gathering the Light inside the core of his weapons. A strip of lightning burst from the blaster, arcing across the courtyard and leaving a smoking black trail where it had hit the ground. "Whoah!"
"Obviously, they will not be so powerful once you leave, but they will at least function in battle." Ego had one hand up to his chin as he frowned down at the blasters in obvious disapproval of Peter's choice. Briefly Peter wondered if the Celestial was upset because he knew the connection between these weapons and Yondu, or if he just thought they were ugly.
"Yeah, yeah, I got that already," Peter dismissed his father's repeated warning and spun to shove one of the blasters into Nebula's arms. "You've got to try it! It's so cool!"
The assassin frowned and shoved Peter off with one hand as she caught the offending weapon with the other before it could hit the ground.
"Of course," Ego said, "they will only work for you or I. None of your allies or enemies, mortal or not, will be able to command the Light required to wield them."
Nebula cleared her throat and Peter glanced away from his father to find her aiming the barrel of his blaster straight at his chest. She pulled the trigger and Peter flinched as he heard the click. A smug grin crossed her face and she handed the weapon back. "It's a handy fail safe, I suppose."
Peter snatched it back and stuck his tongue out at her.
"These are weighted better than your old set," she informed him before he could complain about her prank. "I thought you hadn't figured out metals yet."
"No." He flipped one blaster over in his hand and watched the sleek surface shimmer under the light. "I haven't..."
A wrinkle formed between her eyebrows and Nebula reached for one of the blasters back which Peter happily handed over.
"Maybe it's just easier, because I was working with pieces of core, not just making something out of nothing?" Peter tried to shrug it off, but there was a bitter taste at the back of his throat and a heaviness in his gut. Something weird had happened, even for his life. Weird stuff didn't always end so well. For a moment he swore he could hear the distorted laughter of Eternity in the back of his head, and a shudder ran up his spine.
Metallic ringing interrupted his thoughts as Nebula tapped at the blaster's casing with her augmented fingers. "It's definitely metal." She scraped at it next, then gripped it tight enough that the joints of her false hand creaked.
"Hey!" Peter gasped, grabbing it back again. "Did you just try to crush it!? I just got it back- stop breaking all my stuff!"
"I haven't broken anything of yours."
"My Walkman!"
"You fell on it. And I fixed it, anyways."
"It's still cracked..."
Nebula snorted but didn't refute it. "One thing," she grumbled.
"My ship. Twice!"
"I fixed it. Twice."
"You still broke it."
She rolled her eyes and drew a breath like she wanted to point out how easy his ship was to break or blame him for the situations that had lead to the damage. "Fine. It only counts as one thing. And anyways, you broke it last, and much more significantly."
A frown formed on his lips at how flippantly she was admitting to destroying his property. He sucked in a deep breath of his own and raised one finger, blaster still balled in the remaining fingers of that hand, to give her a piece of his mind when a sudden memory flickered across his mind. Lilijadahl was a very long ways behind them now, and not once had she brought up the still missing dagger, not even when the apology he had given her had turned out to be second-hand, or after she had left even that behind on the Oasis to probably melt in the flames. Once or twice he had wondered if she never brought it up because she just didn't care about the weapon, or if she was just so accustomed to losing or discarding things, or having them taken from her with no remorse, that she had already accepted she would not be getting it back.
He was probably overthinking it. They'd all had much bigger fish to fry, and it was no secret he didn't have extra funds to throw around on custom weaponry, let alone a free second to do it. She probably hadn't bothered him because there was obviously no point.
"Fine, fine. Whatever."
From where he stood, nearly forgotten, Ego gave a loud and purposeful cough. "If you are done with this, we can move on with our session. We will be out of time soon, and I think it would be best if you practiced with those things here, where I can step in if need be. Do be cautious with them – you will find that this close to the remainder of my core, they deliver more of a 'kick' than you are accustomed to."
Peter frowned at the blaster in his right hand for a moment before raising it above his head and aiming for the sky. This time he focused on fire, pushing himself to gather as much Light as he could into the weapon in his palm, and squeezed the trigger when he felt the quad blaster in his hand start to vibrate with energy. The blast of hot air caught him by complete surprise with its intensity and size. He had expected maybe the equivalent of a small flamethrower, a ten or even twenty foot range of flames. That would have been several times more than what he had been able to do on his own. Instead, what came out was practically an inferno.
Releasing the trigger before he could melt off his eyebrows, Peter gave a yelp of excitement and pumped his fists. "Oh yeah! Now that's a weapon! Look at my babies go!"
Bouncing on the balls of his feet and barely resisting the urge to break out into a dance then and there, Peter caught Nebula's eye as Ego handed her a weapon of her own for the session- the same old staff she'd been kicking his ass with earlier that morning.
"Maybe you should reconsider that shield, now," he laughed out through a wide grin. The small cut on his cheek was almost completely healed, but the mending skin burned in protest of his excitement.
Nebula answered with a rare smile of her own, -small, and more than a bit vicious- and gave her own weapon a quick spin. "Why don't you see if you can make me want one?"
-x-
The sun was setting on ego's planet when the time came to leave for the arranged meeting with the Nova Corps. Peter stood at the edge of the canyon, watching the reddened sun sink behind the mountains with an eerie silence. No birdsong or buzzing insects could be heard as the forest settled into night and the landscape was swallowed up in shadow. He hoped he would never see this place in sunlight again.
"He's here."
Gamora's voice from where she stood, a distance to his left, announced the arrival of the last Guardian. Rocket was stalking out of a nearby stand of trees like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was headed.
"Rocket!" Peter stepped back from the cliff's edge to head towards the ship that Ego had resurrected from the scrap the raccoon had worked so diligently to reduced it to. Gamora followed, not too far behind him, but far enough to be not quite walking with him. "You're cutting it close, man."
The raccoon gave him a side eyed glare, with a flash of red that wasn't entirely the fault of the setting sun. "I told you I ain't spendin' one flarkin' moment with you all that I don't have to."
The rest of the Guardians and Ego were already inside and waiting. As soon as the last three made it up the ramp the door closed and they were pulling away from the planet's surface.
End
Chapter 20 Preview: "...Peter pressed his lips into a frown. "Rocket, there are people with thicker jackets if-"
"I'm good here." Rocket tilted his head just enough to regard Peter from the corner of his eyes as he patted his paw on the top of Mantis's head. He seemed to be enjoying the annoyance his choice of perch had created, if the twitch at the corner of his lips was any indication.
Peter furrowed his brows, but when he glanced down to make eye contact with Mantis again, instead of asking for help she mouthed: 'Can I pet him?'
Alarmed, Peter immediately mouthed back 'NO' while from across the table he heard Gamora whisper out a hushed command of "DON'T."
From his spot at the side of the table nearest the door, Drax leaned forward to frantically nod at Mantis. "Do it." He was also whispering, but it was clear he was struggling not to shout the words in his excitement as he encouraged Mantis to try to pet Rocket..."
.
(Mantis is willing to risk it all to pet the 'puppy.' lol!)
I am so sorry for the long delay.
A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by and read this work, and even left kudos and took the time to write comments! I wasn't great at getting back to everyone, especially since I wouldn't even log on for months at a time, but I appreciated every single one. They helped keep this story in my head.
This chapter was actually 99% written 4 years ago, and I was so excited to finally get to Peter's elemental blasters and Rocket. But I never got started on chapter 20, and I don't post until the next chapter is at least 2k words in and I'm sure I don't need to change things.
For those who don't know, The elemental blasters were his signature weapon in the comics and cartoons I found while researching before I wrote Astro. They had four key elements they could use, were keyed to his genetic signature so only he or in some cases his father could use them, and were given to him by his father. I checked most the boxes, I think. I actually wrote the first several chapters of Astro with him having the elemental blasters before remembering his MCU weapons are different and have a blast and stun setting only, and I had to go back and fix it, lol! I had an idea since then to eventually get the element blasters, or a version of them, back to him. (I love his quad blaster, don't get me wrong.) In raw power, they're not much more than his quad blasters, and on top of that he's got a serious learning curve ahead, so he won't be immediately overpowered, don't worry, but they open up a lot of possibilities to be used creatively and Peter is pretty good at that. Eventually they'll help him keep up with some of the more powerful villains ahead.
And Rocket is now at least a part of the team. Another thing I was looking forward to and then just... dropped off from writing.
It won't be fast, but I'm going to try to get back to picking away at the rest of this story. It's still got some of my favorite scenes ahead.
-OMaM