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silence-burns · 7 years

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Guests //part1/2

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on: “Imagine Loki being forced to live with you while Thor’s on a mission and someone has to watch him.” by @allthefandomloveandimagines

Word count: 2,640

[Masterlist] [Part 2/2]

Killing people is not a solution. It really isn’t. It helps with the problem for a brief moment, but also creates many much more sizeable problems, such as finding a place to dump the body, hiding evidence, getting a believable alibi, answering to the police… It’s a lot of work. It’s not worth it.

You growled when the doorbell rang again, tearing you away from the pleasant comfort of the long-awaited sleep. You grabbed the gun from under your pillow and rushed to the door. You were an Avenger. You could deal with hiding a body.

“The hell is your probl-…!” you yelled, opening the door.

Thor was smiling widely at you. You had to look up to see his beaming face. Something cracked in your neck.

“Hello, my dear human friend,” he greeted you, crashing you in a bear-like hug that pushed the air from your lungs.

“Hi, Thor. I can’t breathe,” you managed to mutter.

You almost stumbled, getting back onto your own two legs. You put the gun down on the shelf before you accidentaly hurt someone. Thor was a smiling ray of sunshine – and certainly one big enough to cover almost all the space in the doorframe, but you still managed to spot someone else behind him.

“No,” you said, leaning down to look under one of his arms.

“Please-…”

“I said no. I don’t even know why you brought him here and I don’t want to. Take him from me before I hurt him really bad,” you groaned after you recognized the tall, slim figure of Loki. At least the God of Mischief looked as disgusted as you.

Thor looked at you pleadingly. It was weird to see puppy eyes on a Norse God made almost entirely of muscles.

“Please, I need someone to take care of him while I go on a mission.”

“Last time I checked, he was a grown-ass man, fully capable of taking care of himself. A stupid man, but that’s besides the point.”

“I heard that.”

“Shut up, Loki,” you and Thor said at the same time.

Thor moved back to you. The more you looked into his eyes, the weaker your resistance was. You crossed your arms, but you didn’t feel any more confident.

“Please, you’ve proven that you can watch over him and stop him if he tries anything. You are the only one capable of that. I trust you.”

You closed your eyes, slowly counting to ten.

“I don’t think this really helped anyone,” Loki commented with a raised eyebrow.

“Shut up before I tie you up and lock in the basement.”

“I knew it!” Thor locked you in a bone-breaking hug once again, cheering like a kid. “Thank you so much! I’ll take him back as fast as I can, I promise!”

“Wait, Thor-…”

“You can beat him as you please, whatever helps you keep him in check!”

“Wait…” Loki repeated your words.

“Bye!”

Before you could say anything else, he rushed down the stairs and stood in front of your home. He disappeared in a flash of light, picked up by Heimdall.

For a moment there was only silence. A deep, heavy silence. You looked back at Loki. He had to be used to his brother’s actions, because he didn’t look even partially as shocked as you were.

“I hate you,” you declared openly.

He shrugged, his cuffed hands lifting slightly with the action.

“I wouldn’t mind if we skipped the part where we introduce ourselves and exchange greetings…”

“Dude, you’ve started a regular war on my planet and last time we met I’ve kicked your ass because of that. I ain’t gonna greet you.”

“I was already wounded and weakened when you…”

“Blah, blah, blah. Can you at least move into the house? My neighbors are watching,” you pointed to the old lady on the other end of the corridor. She winced and slowly moved to the stairs. Loki waved at her with a wide smile, clearly showing the handcuffs.

You caught him by the arm, dragging him in.

“Listen, buddy,” you warned him quietly. “I am very tired. Exhausted, to be exact. I’ve been awake for the past 48 hours, because I had an important mission on which I helped many people. You may not understand this, because it’s the opposite of what you do on your daily basis, but I don’t care. I didn’t want you here, but yet, we have to deal with your brother’s recklessness. Or kill each other.”

“Since when is that an option?”

“Since I have a loaded gun within reach.”

He peeked at it.

“You are different than the Avengers. Are you sure you’re one of them?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“It’s complicated,” you winced, turning back after taking the gun.

You went to your living room, hearing Loki follow you. You didn’t think anyone would pay you a visit for at least the next couple of days, so you didn’t bother to clean, which resulted in a what seemed like a tornado’s ravages. Well, you’ve never been much of a cleaner. Besides, you had been busy for the last few weeks (mostly with avoiding the mess while walking through it on those rarely occasions when you were home). Loki looked a little impressed.

“Is this a homeless’ cave?”

“Very funny. I don’t have a herd of servants on my every nod, my dear prince,” you bowed sarcastically, moving to the TV.

“I didn’t know you knew what palace life looked like. What a surprise,” he smirked.

“I didn’t know you knew what a homeless’ cave looked like,” you mimicked his smile.

For a long while there was only the silence around you. It probably would have became awkward after some time, because neither of you wanted to surrender in your so-called stare-contest. Before it could happen, your own tiredness betrayed you, making you yawn so hard you almost broke your jaw.

“You should really go back to bed,” Loki noticed, for the first time not sounding all sassy and mean. It was a nice surprise, although you weren’t sure how to react to it.

“Umm… And leave you all alone? What do you plan to do? Set a fire? Run away and start another war?”

Loki huffed, acting like your words hurt him.

“Me? Please, I can take care of myself…”

“…and that’s why Thor literally handed me your ass to babysit?” you interrupted him. You couldn’t stop yourself.

If he wasn’t in Asgardian handcuffs, Loki would probably gesture more openly, but for now he stopped at shrugging.

“So what are your plans?” he asked in response, and you had to admit you didn’t have a good answer.

“Well… First of all, I’ll let you know that Earth is still very sensitive about the recent events including you, so there is no point in you escaping this house if you don’t want to get beaten up by pissed-off people. And yes, I know that those shiny little handcuffs you’re wearing don’t allow you to use any magic, so stop with the ‘wait for the big surprise’ face. Second, I don’t know… How about you watch TV for the next couple of hours? I promise, if you don’t mess up any of my stuff, I won’t screw up your pretty face with my fist. Deal?”

He didn’t look convinced, but wasn’t sure if he had any other options. Loki looked around once more, with a loud huff deciding it was worth trying. Thor didn’t ask him before putting him in this situation either, so it wasn’t entirely your fault. He shrugged, keeping it supercilious.

“It’s a rather barbarian deal, but whatever.”

You were so relieved (you expected a fight) you hugged him tightly before even thinking about it. It was actually more of a friend-hug, but it left him impassive (or so he seemed), so you let it slip. You’d been exhausted, you should be forgiven for a moment of oblivion. Almost dancing your way to the TV, you took the remote, seating Loki in the armchair and quickly instructing him how to use it.

“What about my chains? It’s rather uncomfortable in them and I’ve already promised you I’d be nice!” he asked when you turned back to go to your room.

“It’s a barbarian deal, did you already forget, my prince? But don’t worry, I won’t be merciless – there are some cookies left in the shelf under the oven. You may take them if it’s enough for your royal tongue,” you winked at him with a grin, leaving him alone.

Before heading back to bed, you set the house alarm to wake you up when the door would open. It was one of Tony’s gadgets you actually knew how to use.

You fell asleep almost immediately after touching the pillow.

Loki remained ‘nice’ for exactly 47 minutes before he decided TV was boring and mostly useless. He moved to your room only to find you deeply asleep and tucked in layers of blankets. You looked surprisingly harmless and peaceful, like the complete opposite of your usual self. Even with one hand on the gun.

After some consideration, he decided that waking you up just to complain about being bored wasn’t worth dealing with your fury. Besides, a tiny bit of himself had to admit you looked like you were in dire need of some rest.

Loki took the cookies, sniffing them suspiciously. You didn’t know Thor would drag him there, so they probably weren’t poisoned, although he wasn’t sure if you wouldn’t try this out if you had been warned. The cookies weren’t bad, even though he’s eaten better – no mortal could compare with the Asgardian’s chefs, especially the ones working in the palace’s kitchen.

Contemplating his life choices that brought him into this position, Loki moved back to the armchair, getting angry every time the chains restricted his movement. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as rotting in a cell, but Loki certainly wasn’t one to be pleased easily.

When you woke up a few hours later, you felt great. Your muscles were still tense and you could feel what the mission had demanded of you, but other than that – you could say the well-deserved sleep almost cured you. That was, until the recent memories of an unexpected visit came back to you, hitting you hard with pure terror.

Not caring about your disheveled hair, you rushed to the living room, almost seeing the disaster flashing before your eyes.

You were stunned when you saw nothing like that. Well, the mess you’d created in the past weeks was still there, but it didn’t seem to have increased substantially. You could see the fresh stain on the floor where Loki probably spilled something in the kitchen and didn’t bother to clean it all up, but other than that – nothing. No blood, no broken furniture, no fire. Even the windows were in their place.

“I warn you not to yell now,” the quiet, calm voice said from the armchair. “We may argue sometime later, if you don’t mind.”

“The hell…?”

You approached him slowly, getting more and more worried if it all wasn’t just a twisted dream. You almost didn’t believe your own eyes when you noticed a fat, grey cat sleeping on Loki’s knees. The God of Mischief raised an eyebrow seeing your shocked expression.

“Why did you steal my neighbours’ cat?” was all you managed to say.

“I didn’t steal it! It was walking outside the window!” Loki seemed to be hurt by your accusations.

“And you just thought you’d pick it up and take it inside?”

“Why not? It was clearly just wandering around all by itself,” he shrugged.

You stared at him for a while, contemplating the rumour your neighbour would spread if she ever found out about where her beloved cat was.

“I suppose the stain on the floor is from the milk?”

“Of course, it was starving.”

You doubted it. The cat clearly needed some proper diet, but you didn’t want to argue. You had a dog once in your childhood and you knew perfectly well how pets could make people bend their rules and will just to get some snacks.

“Whatever,” you finally gave up. “You want something to drink? Did you drink anything?” you asked, heading to the kitchen.

“Milk. Your fridge is rather empty, just like your shelves.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’ve been kinda busy the past week and didn’t expect any guests, my prince,” you bowed down ironically. “You want some tea?”

Loki nodded, still petting the cat. You turned the kettle on, taking two cups.

“I didn’t know you liked animals,” you voiced your recent thoughts, waiting for the water to boil.

Loki shrugged, turning his gaze off of you.

“Cats have always liked me, same goes for horses. We’ve had hounds too, but they were only used for hunting, so they were kept locked in the stables. They were always wild.”

“Were they big?” you asked, actually curious. You’d been surprised by his sudden confession.

“Of course they were, they were bred to seriously injure or kill their prey.”

“And you’re saying I’m barbaric?” you raised the eyebrow and he chuckled.

“It’s not that bad. Hunts are supposed to let you bring some big prey home.”

When he smiled, for a moment you could see in him the man he was somewhere deep under all those layers he kept shielding himself with from the world around. You didn’t deny any of his decisions and you kept in mind that the last time you’d met, he was leading an attack on your planet. It was still a very fresh wound, but even killing him now wouldn’t change anything.

“You know, it’s a shame you had to choose the dark side,” you stated, pouring the tea.

He frowned.

“I’m not sure what you mean…”

“I bet you don’t have Star Wars in Asgard… I meant it’s a shame you’ve decided to be the bad guy, kill people, do some evil stuff.”

Something in his expression darkened. You didn’t know him well, but for a moment you thought it was sadness.

“Sometimes we are destined from birth to do so.”

“Bullshit.”

Loki frowned again, looking back at you with surprise, clearly not expecting those words. You handed him the cup, sitting on his left on the couch. You could see he was still expecting some answers. It was your turn to shrug.

“There is no such thing as destiny, I mean, even if there is, it has no real power over anyone or anything. Sure, some people have it harder in life than others, but it’s still them who make the most important decisions.”

For a moment there was only silence in the room.

“You’re weird,” Loki finally declared.

“Dude!”

Loki laughed and you followed after a moment. The sun was heading down – you’d slept through the better part of the day. Loki and you watched the reddening sky for a while.

“Are you tired?” you asked, an idea slowly forming in your head.

“Not really, I didn’t do much today,” Loki shrugged.

“You wanna watch a movie? We can do a Star Wars marathon since you’ve probably never seen it.”

“What is a movie?”

“Yeah, you definitely haven’t seen it. Put the cat down or throw it back on my neighbour’s balcony and help me with the popcorn.”

You moved to the kitchen, excited to see the Norse God struggle with humanity’s inventions. You wished you could watch in 3D just to see his face, but seeing him use the microwave was almost as interesting.

Well, no one told you to go easy on him.

[Masterlist] [Part 2/2]

#loki #loki x reader #loki/reader #loki imagine #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson x reader #marvel #loki laufeyson imagine #loki laufeysonxyou #lokixyou #loki laufeyson x you #loki x you #loki laufeyson/reader #loki reader insert #loki laufeyson reader insert

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uozlulu · 6 years

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WIP Fic. Guardians of the Galaxy/Avengers. Untitled. PG-13-ish

Back in April 2016 I had surgery and due to brain damage I have i had a really bad reaction to anesthesia and I had to build my brain back up to speed. The first fic writing idea I got post-surgery was Infinity War, but from a Guardians of the Galaxy perspective instead of an Avengers perspective. It was the only idea I had so I ran with it until I hit a brick wall of inspiration in how to write the second half of the fic idea.

Since the Infinity War trailer is out now I might as well post the portion of first draft I wrote since I did put a lot of time and effort into it so it’d be a waste not to share. If there’s an interest in me finishing this fic, editing it, and making it good enough to post on AO3 and ff.net I’ll gladly continue it even though that will mean posting it after the movie comes out. If there’s no interest in that that’s okay too. Like I said, I don’t want the time and effort it took to make a playlist (this is a GotG fic after all) and write 15,913 words to go to waste.

It’s been spell checked and grammar checked via Word. My writing process is to write up a rough draft and then edit it once all the chapters are written so it’ll likely be rough in places or not fleshed out enough. I’ll give a rough overview of where the fic is going in the second half since it’d not be fair to post this and not tell you roughly how it ends in case it never does get finished.

So here we go....

Title Title Goes Here Author Uozumi AO3 | ff.net | Tumblr Fandom Avengers (MCU)/Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU) Character(s)/Pairing(s) Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Daughters of Thanos, Drax, Gamora, Groot, Happy Hogan, Scott Lang, Mantis, Wanda Maximoff, May Parker, Peter Parker, Pepper Potts, Hope Pym, Peter Quill, Rocket Racoon, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, T’Challa, Thanos, Thor, Tony Stark, Sam Wilson Genre Action/Alternate Universe/Science Fiction/War Rating PG-13 Word Count 15,913 Disclaimer MCU c. Marvel, Disney Summary The Guardians of the Galaxy track Thanos to the Solar System. Upon reaching Earth’s orbit, their ship runs afoul and they’re scattered across the globe. As they encounter the Avengers it becomes obvious that both groups must unite and stop Thanos’ threat Warning(s) language, fire, violence, death, major character deaths, spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017), spoilers for the trailers for Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Spider-Man: Homecoming(2017) Notes For the sake of narrative clarity Peter Quill is Quill and Peter Parker is Parker. This fic also places the Ginnungagap somewhere between Greenland and Iceland. I wanted to make this a more Guardians centered fic to avoid possibly making the fic too much like the upcoming Infinity War movies. I’m just excited to be able to write fic again so I’m running with the first idea that came to me. I also will be honest that I’ve not seen Doctor Strange (2016), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), or Thor: Ragnarök (2017).

Title Goes Here Three hops. Three more hops. It was almost two years since Yondu’s death. The Guardians of the Galaxy tracked Thanos, edging ever closer. Three jumps and they would be in the same solar system. Quill held his breath. Gamora squeezed his shoulder from the seat behind his. Two jumps. Groot slept quietly in Drax’s lap. Mantis sat with Gamora in front of the security panel. Their new ship was smaller than Quill’s old ship, but had ample space for the small crew and whoever tagged along from time to time. Mantis wanted to touch Quill and understand his emotions, but she did not feel like she could ask right now, that anyone could speak right now. One final jump. Quill let out a long, low breath. “Almost there,” Rocket said. There was not much either of them could do while the ship jumped. The ship shuddered to impulse engines as they finally arrived at their destination. They were three planets away from Thanos’ main ship. “Cant’ Fight This Feeling,” by REO Speedwagon started to play as the Earth loomed in the cockpit windshield. Peter stared. When Yondu abducted him almost thirty years ago Peter had not comprehended what happened long enough to look back at Earth before they warped out of view. He swallowed. “It’s so…blue,” Mantis said quietly. “It explains his moods,” Drax said as if in some kind of agreement. “I am Groot,” Groot yawned. “We arrived,” Rocket answered the question and then pointed off to the left, “but what is that?” Everyone looked at an object coming into view as it orbited the Earth. There were groups of eight solar panels on either side of several linked structures. “It’s too primitive to be Thanos’,” Gamora said. “Is it Terran?” Peter frowned. “I don’t know. Looks like Skylab or something, so probably.” His mind filled with questions and quandaries. Did Earth have any kind of space defense? Was this a space defense? An explosion at the stern of the ship caused everyone to move forward with the vibration. Groot fell out of Drax’s lap. The attack alert system began to sound and the security screen in front of Gamora and Mantis brought up the rear view cameras. “It’s a Chitauri sentinel,” Gamora said. “He’s firing to port.” Rocket brought up the weapon systems while Peter navigated the ship. He was not fast enough and another shot sent the ship towards Earth’s orbit. “I will go out and meet them in –” Drax said and started to undo his safety harness. “We don’t need anyone to go outside,” Peter said. “We need the guns in the back.” “We don’t have any guns in the back anymore,” Rocket said. “The sentinel is moving to starboard,” Mantis reported. “That I can do,” Rocket said and returned fire on the Chitauri ship. Groot found himself huddled under one of the seats. From his hiding spot he could see a red button behind a small cage. It was a special button only meant for emergencies. Everyone was careful to tell him not to touch it. The ship rocked again. They were losing altitude quickly. Everyone was shouting. Groot could not tell if they were winning or losing, but it felt like losing. It felt like an emergency. He extended a branch towards the button and pushed. “Ejection sequence activated,” the ship’s voice said. “Ejection sequence activated. Please remained seated.” “What the –” Peter glanced over his shoulder and did a head count. “Where’s Groot?” “I am Groot,” Groot said and he scrambled up into the empty chair. “Ten,” the computer said. “You WHAT?” Rocket asked. “Nine.” “I am Groot,” Groot said. “Eight.” The computer activated everyone’s safety gear so that they each became encased in a bubble wrap looking space suit. “Seven.” Peter tried to keep the ship stable. “Someone needs to stop this ejection sequence.” “Six.” “I’m trying! I’m trying!” Rocket said. “It’s not responding.” “Five.” “We need a meeting place,” Gamora said. “Four.” “Uh…” Peter tried to think of a landmark. Any landmark. “Three.” “Peter!” “Two.” “The St. Louis arch!” Peter said. “One.” The windshield lowered and the ship ejected everyone except for Peter, who sat in the captain’s chair, into Earth’s atmosphere. Peter kept control of the wounded ship. All he could do was guide it towards what looked like North America as everyone else disappeared from view, as “Baby, I can’t fight this feeling anymore,” brought an end to the sound playing over the speaker system. The group ejected from the ship were too high up for their jet rockets to engage immediately. Their suits protected them from disintegrating in the reentry friction. One by one the winds pulled them away from each other until only Groot and Rocket remained. “Groot! GROOT!” Rocket cried out after his bubble-wrap like suit retracted, but he was too far away for Groot to hear. A large coastal city loomed below. “Dammit – Groot!” Rocket shouted. His jetpack kept him at a stable speed, but if he tried to force it to help him fly, it sputtered and threatened to fail. Rocket was so fixed on Groot’s position that he was ill-prepared to land on a terrace of one of the tallest buildings and tumble into the penthouse. He lay on the floor catching his breath and then let out a string of curse words. Rocket stood up and pulled the jetpack off so he could examine it. “No. No.” There was a small scorch mark at the base. He opened a hatch and examined the wiring. “Shit.” He felt eyes on him and tensed. He raised his gaze and saw a man sipping coffee watching Rocket quietly from a few yards away. “Totally didn’t see anything,” Tony Stark said. “Totally didn’t hear anything either.” He kept his distance and did not take his eyes from Rocket. Both grew quiet, assessing the other. Tony was so calm that Rocket could believe Quill’s stories about these raccoon things being on Earth that looked like him. “Anyway, where do people go to get mechanical parts around here?” Rocket gestured towards the direction he came from. “I’ve got a friend to go pick up and I can’t do it with this thing busted.” “Who’s your friend?” Tony asked. He finished off his coffee. “None of your business,” Rocket said. “I just need some wires and probably a propulsion cord. Tubing too.” Normally all these things would be ripe for the taking at the nearest spaceport, but Rocket knew they were too far out in the boonies of the galaxy for such a thing. Tony set his mug down. “It’s my business,” he said. “I know there’s an invasion coming. I know raccoons don’t talk or fall out of the sky. So I need to know who your friend is so I can protect this city, this planet from whatever’s coming.” Rocket realized the only thing keeping this situation from deteriorating was the fact he had not presented a credible threat to this person yet. He could also tell that Tony’s patience was thin. Rocket looked around the room at his options and paused. They were in a penthouse full of comfortable furniture and decorations that belied the owner was artistic and mechanical and probably out his nose rich. Rocket set his jetpack down and showed Tony his palms. “I think I’ve been too hasty. My friend is a small talking tree about this tall. If I don’t find him soon, who knows what will happen to him.” “A small talking tree?” Tony asked. “Yeah. His name’s Groot,” Rocket said. “He’s not even a sapling. He went down somewhere over there.” Rocket gestured off towards Queens. “We’ve got to get back together and find this…uh…” he tried to remember what Peter said before everyone left the ship, “San Ark.” “San Ark?” Tony asked. “Yeah, I don’t know what it is either,” Rocket said. “Anyway, like I said, I need some parts to fix this thing so I can go find him.” Tony was quiet a long moment, thinking things over. “Okay. Come with me. I know where there are some parts.” He started off towards the elevator. Rocket followed. He figured if it was a trap, he could get out of it. Gamora, meanwhile, lost sight of the others early on. She fell through the atmosphere and waited. If she engaged the jetpack too early it would not work. She could see airplanes below and no sign of any spacecraft other than what they saw from orbit. She went into a bank of clouds and still waited. When she emerged, she could see taiga stretching out in front of her with few signs of settlement. Gamora retracted her bubble wrap-like suit and engaged her jetpack, using it to guide her into a landing spot, avoiding the fir trees. Gamora landed in a pile of slush. Everything was melting from warmer late spring temperatures. She sighed and looked around. Like so much about Earth, she was in the middle of nowhere. It was too cloudy to find the sun. She took out a small device from her pocket that was made to find certain types of magnetism for navigating any habitable planet. She held it up and let it calibrate, using the reflection on the device to see behind her. She took a deep breath. What was it that Quill said aliens always said in movies? “I come in peace,” Gamora said. Her device beeped to let her know it had calibrated to Earth’s magnetic force. “Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Sam Wilson replied where he stood not far away, one hand on a gun near his thigh, “since the last few have not.” Gamora showed him her hands, though she was ready to defend if need be, and turned slowly to face him. She could tell he was a soldier and highly intelligent. Before either could speak again, there was a streak through the sky. The damaged Chitauri sentinel crashed into the trees not far away. “Not one of those bastards again,” Sam murmured. “You’ve fought them before?” Gamora asked. “Yeah,” Sam said, keeping details light. He drew his gun. Gamora drew her own space gun. It was small and discreet and ran on its own self-charging system. They retreated into denser taiga and waited. The Chitauri moved silently. There were two of them carrying medium sized particle weapons. The Chitauri shot first, singing the trees. Sam and Gamora moved to other cover. Gamora returned fire when she could. Sam fired one shot, choosing to conserve his bullets and lead the action towards the mouth of the forest. Gamora drew closer to one of the Chitauri once she saw the riverbank and led them out into the open. Once they were on the ample, rocky riverbank, she drew her sword and charged. The Chitauri switched weapons to a three pronged blade that pulsed with electricity. They clashed, each try to avoid death. The rocks were flat and wide farther away from the river, leading to good footing for both. They twisted and turned, trying to cement the high ground and avoid the smaller rocks. Out in the open, Sam lacked cover. He did not have his wings either. However, he knew the terrain and he knew his skills. He returned fire, injuring the Chitauri. Sam used the pause in action to charge forward and tackle the Chitauri to the ground. He could heard the other Chitauri die. Thick blood oozed from the Chitauri under Sam. The Chitauri stopped struggling and reached for a button on the side of his armor. “Get away!” Gamora shouted at Sam, who was already rolling away from the Chitauri. When the Chitauri pressed the button he exploded, spewing guts, blood, and skin across the riverbank, Sam, and Gamora. Two seconds later there was a massive explosion in the direction of the Chitauri ship causing the ground to shake in such a way that Gamora almost lost her footing. Fire shot into the sky, lighting the forest around it on fire like a giant flare. The bears down river made alarmed noises, calling to each other to evacuate. Other animals began running in any direction leading away from the fire. Sam scrambled to his feet. Gamora joined him and they ran downstream away from the fire. They came to a place in which rocks stuck out at short enough intervals they could cross the river. The fire continued to spread. Gamora looked over her shoulder once she crossed the river at the destruction consuming the taiga. She turned away and continued following Sam. Back in New York, Groot remained motionless on the roof of someone’s front porch. He fell three hours ago and he was not sure what to do. He lost track of everyone after he pressed the button. He heard someone approach the house and peered in their direction. Peter Parker entered the front yard and rubbed his face. He had his backpack slung over a shoulder and looked wiped out from school. He ran a hand through his hair and paused. Then he looked directly at Groot. Groot held his breath and remained perfectly still. He was definitely just a bit of drift wood on this roof. He was one with other branches that fell during the rain last night. He relaxed when Parker entered the house. Groot was not sure if he should stay on the roof or not. He meant to leave sooner but some neighbors came out of their houses to hang flags and others kept coming and going as if everyone was preparing for an upcoming party. Groot hoped he would not have to lie low until night. Certainly the others were looking for him. The window near Groot’s head opened. Parker leaned out and touched Groot carefully. Groot held his breath. “Hey,” Parker said. “I can hear you breathing.” He held out a long stem of broccoli. “Are you hungry?” Groot looked at the broccoli. He’d never seen such a plant before. “I am Groot,” he said quietly. Parker blinked. “What?” he asked. “I am Groot,” Groot repeated a little louder this time. Parker nodded slowly. “Well, uh…if you need water, I can get you water.” He put the broccoli in his mouth and ate it. “Want to come inside?” “I am Groot,” Groot said. He reached out to Parker. Parker picked him up, unsure of how to hold Groot at first. “I’m Peter, by the way,” Peter said. He juggled Groot in one arm and shut his window with his other hand. “As long as Aunt May doesn’t see you, you can stay here as long as you want.” “I am Groot?” Groot asked. “She’s uh…my dad’s sister-in-law,” Parker said. “I’ve lived with her since I was little.” He carried Groot down the hall and into the bathroom. He set Groot down on the linoleum and made sure the small tub was clean. Groot looked around the bathroom. He saw a cockroach in the corner and slowly crept over to it. He caught it in his branches and bit down on its hard exterior. “I am Groot,” he murmured in disgust and cast the cockroach aside. The cockroach ran into a nearby vent as fast as possible. “I don’t think you should eat that,” Parker said. He started the water running. “What kind of temperature do you like?” “I am Groot,” Groot said. Parker nodded and adjusted it so it was ever so slightly warm. “Try that,” he said. Groot reached out and touched the water. “I am Groot!” he said and excitedly got into the tub. “Okay,” Parker said. “Now, watch this.” Parker engaged the shower. Groot’s eyes lit up when the shower rained down on him. He rushed to the far end of the tub to get the brunt of the blast and then danced about, taking in the water. There was a large curtain pulled across most of the tub. Peter watched him from the far end where the water wasn’t in danger of soaking the bathroom. Groot looked at Parker and then remembered to say, “I am Groot.” “You’re welcome,” Parker said. “I AM GROOT!” Groot shrieked when the water abruptly became ice cold. He ran away from the brunt of the spray and got out of the tub. “Ah! Hold it!” Peter said. He shut the water off and grabbed a big towel. Groot tried to evade the towel and ran out into the hallway, leaving a small trail of water in his wake. “Groot, you can’t get everything wet!” “I am Groot!” “You’re on carpet! Air drying doesn’t count!” Parker eventually dropped the towel over Groot as gently as possible. Groot stopped running once he was under the warm fluff. Groot dried himself off and peeked out at Parker. He watched Parker wiping up the puddles Groot left on the carpet and bathroom floor. Groot draped his towel tent over his head like a hooded cape and sat on the floor. The door downstairs closed. “I’m home!” Aunt May called out. “Shit,” Parker murmured. “Hey, go to my room and hide, okay?” he said quietly to Groot. “I can’t let Aunt May see you.” Groot looked at the staircase and then he looked at Parker’s room. “Groot,” Parker hissed. “Are you okay?” Aunt May asked from the foot of the stairs. “Yeah,” Parker called out. He headed down the stairs. Groot got up and dragged his towel cocoon into Parker’s room. He settled down onto a small child-sized chair Parker kept in a corner despite being too big for it now and fell fast asleep. Mantis did not worry when she saw the others disappear. They all had to find Louis Arch. She did not think Quill would pick a place too hard to find to meet back up at since he grew up on this planet. She was west of Gamora and none of the terrain was ideal to land. She finally settled down on the rocky shore downstream of Gamora and on the other side of the river. There were bears upstream. Mantis approached the river and knelt down, sticking her fingers into the cold river. Instantly she withdrew them, wiping them off on her jacket. “Too cold,” she murmured, accustomed to talking to herself when alone to cope with Ego leaving her alone for long stretches of time. Mantis’ antennae stretched. She could feel eyes on her. She turned around and saw a young woman watching her. “Hello,” Mantis said. “I am Mantis with the Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve come to save Earth.” Wanda Maximoff did not immediately say anything. She looked at Mantis as if she was not sure it would be rude to stare at Mantis’ antennae too long. “I do not know who or what that is,” Wanda said carefully, still assessing if Mantis was friend or foe. “We are a group that helps anyone who needs help,” Mantis said. She paused. “Unless they’re Thanos.” She kept her gaze on Wanda. She did not know why but there was something about Wanda that seemed familiar, almost like Mantis herself. Mantis knew that this feeling made no sense since she and Wanda did not look alike, but she could not shake the feeling either. Wanda took one step forward. “You feel things, yes?” She did not look away from Mantis either. “Yes,” Mantis said. “I feel…everything.” She also took a step forward. Her fingers she dipped in the river stung in the cold air. “I don’t touch people who don’t allow it,” Mantis added. Wanda brought her hand up, but kept it close to her body, hesitating. Mantis reached out, her palm open, ready to take Wand’s hand if Wanda consented. “What is going on?” Steve Rogers asked as he emerged from the fir trees. He was dressed in earth tones and for the climate like Wanda. Wanda took a deep breath and then let her hand rest at her side. Mantis lowered her hand as well and curled her fingers to access the warmth from the sleeve of her jacket. “I have it under control,” Wanda said. “This is Mantis. She says she is a Guardian of the Galaxy.” Steve looked at Mantis. “What are you doing on Earth?” he asked. He looked at ease, but his stance was also tense as though he was ready to defend them if Mantis attacked. “We’re –” Mantis said but stopped speaking as the three of them watched the injured Chitauri ship fly across the sky and disappear out of view. “They attacked us,” Mantis said. “Our ship sent us into your atmosphere and we got separated.” “Why would they attack you?” Steve asked, his eyes trained on where the craft disappeared from view. “We’re here to stop Thanos,” Mantis said. “They work for him.” “We’ve fought them before,” Steve said. He frowned deeply. “Wanda, I’m going to help Sam. Take Mantis to that place. If things start to go south, take the truck and head northwest.” Wanda nodded. She motioned for Mantis to follow her. Steve ran in the direction of the ship. It would take him into the woods before Gamora and Sam could emerge from the woods. Mantis followed Wanda along the riverbank. Wanda handed Mantis a pair of gloves. “You do not want to get frostbite,” she said. “Wear these.” “What is frost bite?” Mantis asked, who was used to Ego’s utopia and the safety of spaceships. “It is when the skin rots,” Wanda said. Mantis pulled on the gloves. They were very warm. They moved quickly as they could through across the taiga only stopping when an explosion echoed from far away. Wanda hesitated, looking back at where Sam and Steve were. Then she shook her head. “We must hurry,” she said and picked up the pace. Not long after animals began to run in the same direction and the smell of the forest burning filled the air. When they arrived at an abandoned fishing cabin, Wanda and Mantis got in the truck. It was outfitted for the terrain and snow. Wanda started it up and the pair headed to the road. They headed North West and soon they ran into Steve, Sam, and Gamora, who got in the back of the truck. Wanda continued driving through the haze caused by the fire, heading steadily towards the tundra. Drax ended up getting carried away to the north farther than any of the others. He ditched his protective suit as soon as he could and used his jetpack to avoid landing in the ocean and finally bringing it down along the eastern most coastline of a series of fjords. It was cold and there was snow flurries in the air. His shoreline was just the bottom of a cliff surrounded by other cliffs and glaciers. He heard noise nearby and looked towards ocean. Two men in a sophisticated boat came in as close to shore as they dared and idled. Thor stood up and raised a hand in greeting. “We saw you fall from orbit. What is your business here?” “I have no business,” Drax said. “I’m not getting paid.” “Right,” Thor murmured. “Do you think he’s one of Thanos’ men?” Bruce Banner asked quietly, though his voice carried across the water. Both Thor and Bruce wore long and thick dark cloaks to protect them from the weather. Thor shook his head. “I think he is one of those we heard about,” he told Bruce. Then he asked Drax in a louder voice, “Are you the one who held the Power Stone and survived?” “I did not hold the stone, I held my friends’ hands,” Drax said. He paused. “That is why I survived.” “So he’s one of them?” Bruce asked Thor. “It appears so,” Thor said to Bruce, “which means we are very fortunate.” He addressed Drax again, “We are two of the Avengers. We can ferry you wherever you must go. It is likely your comrades will meet where ours will.” “At the ark?” Drax asked. Maybe this ark Quill wanted them to meet at was some kind of port on Earth. “No,” Thor said. “On the battlefield against Thanos.” He extended a gang plank from the boat towards Drax so that Drax would not have to step into the frigid ocean. Drax stepped onto the plank and then onto the ship. He settled down onto one of two seats Thor and Bruce were not using. “I did not know Earth had such technology,” he said. “We don’t,” Bruce said. He looked around the boat for a compartment that might store clothes. “We might have an extra cloak if you want one.” “No,” Drax said, “my nipples are too sensitive. I can do without.” “If we are ready, let us be off,” Thor said. “Once the wind is warmer, we will be able to contact our allies.” Once they were all settled onto the boat, he pushed some buttons and they shot off across the water at tremendous speed. “Temple of the King” by Rainbow played in Quill’s earbuds as he assessed the large mass in front of him. It swallowed up part of the town he was raised in and now the buildings were abandoned. He found it when walking through the forest away from the crash site. No one needed to tell him that the large magma-like monolith was a remnant of Ego’s failed plan. He also had a feeling the attack originated from somewhere near the Dairy Queen his mother took him to whenever she had the funds. He took in a deep breath. He still had his wallet from Earth along with $15.00 in bills and probably another $3.03 in coins. It was leftover birthday money. Peter sighed deeply. The town’s graveyard was likely swallowed up since it wasn’t too far away on the other side of the Dairy Queen. Quill opened his mouth and then closed it. He turned away and began walking out of town. Some of the shops were the same but most changed. He was not sure what a Starbucks was but it was where the comic book store was when he was little. The route to a nearby state road was the same and soon Peter was walking towards Saint Louis. “Mr. Big Stuff,” by Jean Knight came on Quill’s Zune next. He let the beat get into his step as he continued along the shoulder. He tried to hail a big rig that passed, but the driver did not stop. Even though it had been over two decades since he last traveled to Saint Louis, Peter knew the route well. He went back and forth his entire life with his mom while she tried to treat her cancer. He regretted naming the arch as their rendezvous point, but it was the first iconic landmark he could think of while trying not to die. The sun was starting to think about setting when a car slowed down beside Quill and he paused his music. The car window rolled down with a comfortable hum instead of a squeak from a crank. A man older than Quill sat in the passenger seat and a red haired woman drove. “Hey,” Clint Barton said. “Looks like you could use a lift.” “Going to Saint Louis?” Quill asked. He pulled the earbuds out of his ears. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Natasha Romanoff said in a half-deadpan that Quill could not tell was sincere or a hint that her response was a joke. He could, however, tell she was probably Russian. It made him remember the Cold War for the first time in decades. He wondered if it was still happening. “Get in,” Clint said. “Always room for one more.” Quill got in the back of their car and settled into the seat behind Clint, putting his bag in the middle seat. The car was cushier than the last car he rode in. It was also more technologically advanced with dual climate control and actual built in cup holders for passengers in the front and the back instead of little plastic ones that got wedged into the space between the car window and the door interior. “This is…really nice,” Quill said. He wondered if it was a high end model or maybe a cheap model. If this was a cheap or older car, he could not imagine what some high end new car must be like now. “Thanks,” Natasha said. After a bit of silence, Clint asked, “So, what brings you to Missouri?” Clint sounded like he came from the next state or so over and it put Quill at ease. Quill leaned back in his seat, surprised at how much leg room he had in the back even if it was still cramped. “Business,” Quill said. “What about you?” “Yeah, we’ve got business here too,” Clint said. He seemed to consider his words and then asked, “Did you see that big thing in the sky a few hours ago? I keep telling Tasha that it was a UFO, but she won’t believe me.” “They aren’t real,” Natasha said. “It was a meteor.” “Meteors aren’t that big,” Clint said. “It also had passengers.” “Cast off,” Natasha said. “Meteors break up in the atmosphere.” Quill did not know what to say at first. He was prepared for people to be afraid of the other Guardians. He was not prepared to explain his ship, which now that he thought about it, was kind of a stupid detail to overlook. He held up his hands. “I saw it. Trust me, definitely saw it. Big hunt of rock spewing little rocks everywhere. Pretty sure it was a meteor.” He paused. “Or is it a meteorite? One falls to Earth the other is on Earth…” “That doesn’t explain why you were in a town that hasn’t been inhabited in three years,” Clint said deceptively casually. Quill froze. “Shit.” Natasha had been slowly increasing her speed to the point the car was now too fast for Quill to easily escape. Quill licked his lips and considered his options. “The people after you are also after us,” Clint said. “We can help, but you have to tell us who you and why you’re here.” “And if I don’t?” Quill asked. “Then we’ll leave you where SHIELD can find you,” Clint said. “SHIELD’s just a rumor,” Quill said without thinking. “So you have been off world a while then,” Natasha said. “SHIELD is very real and they are already picking apart your spacecraft as we speak.” Clint nodded. “Why did you come here? Who are you?” he asked. Quill weighed his options. The state route did seem unusually desolate. He also knew that the Guardians alone would like be unable to stop Thanos by themselves. “I’m Star Lord. There’s this intergalactic evil guy called Thanos coming to collect stuff hidden away on Earth. As a Guardian of the Galaxy, it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t get it.” “‘Stuff?’” Clint asked. “What stuff?” “Space stuff,” Quill said. “Top secret space stuff.” “Is your name really Star Lord?” Natasha asked. “Yeah,” Quill said. “It’s a name known throughout the galaxy.” Clint gave him a dubious look. Natasha looked mildly amused. Maybe. Quill could not read her yet, but something about her reminded him of Gamora and Nebula. “You can also call me Peter,” Quill said. “Who are you?” “Avengers,” Natasha said and left it at that. A siren caught Quill’s attention and he looked out the rear window. There was a sheriff car zooming towards them. “We must be out of that zone now,” Clint said. “I hope you’re buckled in, boys,” Natasha said. “We’re going to lose him. She pushed the car to its limits and cut across a field to another state highway that would lead to an interstate. Traffic increased and she began to weave her way to the nearest exit. “We’re going to leave the car in the open and use the darkness to our advantage,” she said for Quill’s benefit. They entered a town of over 5,000 people at a normal speed and continued along the state route until they reached a sad looking gas station near the interstate. They abandoned the car in the parking lot and went into nearby woods, working their way south parallel to the interstate. They crossed a road and continued until they reached a neighborhood. The houses were modest, some better kept than others. Quill stopped and looked at the houses around them. It reminded him of the neighborhood his grandfather lived in except with more disrepair and age. He swallowed down his feelings and followed Natasha and Clint as if the three of them were out for a totally normal walk. Quill was not sure what Avengers were, but it sounded like the kind of help he needed. He decided to stick with Clint and Natasha for now. They found their way to a boat showroom. There was a pickup truck in the parking lot and no sign of anyone in the store. It did not take long for them to get the truck started and start heading south on the interstate. They were going away from St. Louis now with Clint driving. “What are the Guardians of the Galaxy?” Natasha asked. She sat between Clint and Quill. “What are the Avengers?” Quill asked. “Seems polite you tell me about yourself first.” “The Avengers are a group of skilled individuals who protect the earth,” Natasha said. She opened the glove compartment and found an unopened bag of chips. Neither Clint nor Quill objected when she opened them and began rationing them out to the three of them. Quill made a weird face when he tasted the BBQ flavor. “This is…weird.” He knew how BBQ chips should taste but this was not it. “Not a bad weird.” “I believe it’s your turn,” Natasha said and gave Quill another chip. “It’s polite.” Quill snorted a little. “The Guardians of the Galaxy are like the Avengers, but in space. We get hired to do stuff like protect batteries or if a big threat comes up like Ronan, we kick his ass.” “Ronan?” Clint asked. “Yeah, the Destroyer,” Quill said. He was working for Thanos, but we managed to defeat him.” By the skin of their teeth and the seat of their pants. Even knowing he was part Celestial now, Quill did not know how he survived the Power Stone. “We’ve heard things about Thanos,” Natasha said, “mostly whispers.” She passed the third to last chip to Clint and passed the next to last chip to Quill before taking the final chip for herself. Quill turned the chip over in his hands. He was running out of time and had to take the chance that Clint and Natasha could help him. Where else could he go? He took a deep breath and began to explain what he knew about Thanos and what the Guardians were on Earth to do. A large ball of fire and particle beam shot up into the sky far enough away that Dax, Bruce, and Thor could not see the source. It was a fireball tall enough that it likely could be seen from space. Bruce cleared his throat “Well, that…’s festive.” “Is it a custom?” Drax asked. It made him think of the bonfires his people danced around except bigger and more annoying. “No,” Bruce said. “I’m not sure what that was.” They could see very, very faint smoke as though the fireball had been taller than wide and whatever caught on fire might be even farther away than it first appeared. “We are in range to communicate,” Thor said. “The others might be aware of what the cause is.” He removed a communication device from his belt. It looked Asgardian in design. He pressed some buttons and waited. The set of three beeps caught Rocket’s attention immediately. His jetpack fixing adventure led to him needing to rebuild the entire interior of the pack if he wanted it to work. Tony’s technology was not primitive, but Rocket did know several places across the galaxy he probably could get better equipment in some regards. If this was the height of terran technology, Rocket did not want to think about what he would be up against if he landed somewhere less populated. Whatever was beeping kept beeping. Rocket looked at Tony who was working quietly in a corner on his own project. Rocket could not tell if Tony was purposefully ignoring the beeping or could not hear it over the music playing from the speakers. It was similar music to the stuff Quill played but a little louder and a little angrier. Rocket liked it. “Mr. Stark, there is a communication from There Can Only Be One,” FRIDAY said. Tony paused the song, went over to a nearby desk, and retrieved a communication device that looked like alien tech Rocket saw before that definitely was not terran. He pressed a button. “Tony Stark.” “Greetings,” Thor said. “Forgive my lack of communication. There has been too many developments.” “If you mean aliens dropping from the sky once a week around the world and a talking raccoon in my workroom, yeah, lots happening,” Tony said. He moved over to where he was working. “Hey,” Rocket said as if he was telling Quill to watch it with the raccoon talk. “So there are other talking raccoons? Quill said that they did not talk here,” Drax said. Rocket rolled his eyes. He bounded over to Tony’s workspace and said loud enough for the others to hear, “It’s me, you dumbass.” “I’m here too,” Bruce said muffled in the background. Tony’s face softened at Bruce’s voice a little. He let out a small breath. “Been a while,” Tony said. “Glad you’re safe.” There was a small pause and then Thor said, “We must assemble together at the tower. There is much to discuss. It is also important that we find the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. They will be indispensable in the upcoming battle.” “About that…” Tony said. “Stuff happened. Fighting on the tarmac is a meme now. Half the team are fugitives on the run. Rhodey is a bionic man. We’ve not assembled in over a year.” There was silence on the other end of the line. Rocket studied Tony’s face, trying not to be obvious about it. Tony looked off at the bar he no longer stocked. “We cannot fight ourselves right now. Not just Midgard but Asgard and possibly the universe needs us to stop Thanos before he can obtain what he seeks,” Thor said. “I –” Tony stopped himself. “Look. We already fought. Everyone lost.” “How about,” Bruce said and his voice became clearer as though he took the communication device from Thor, “we come to the tower, you get whoever you want to come too, and we talk about how to handle this? You can tell us what happened and we can figure out how screwed we are.” Tony was quiet for a long moment. “Yeah. I’ll make some calls. Get who I can here.” “We will arrive in…” Bruce’s voice trailed. “About one and half sjømil,” Thor said, a little muffled. “Yeah,” Bruce said. “We’re in a boat. We’ll be there in an hour or two? I think we might be warping space time around us.” “We are following the river,” Thor said. “We’ll see you soon,” Bruce said. When the transmission ended, Tony let out a slow, low breath. “I told them this was going to happen,” he said. “Nobody listened.” Rocket frowned. “Well, it’s happening. Now what?” He was not sure what ‘it’ meant Thanos specifically, aliens in general, or whatever the fight was about. “Don’t you have some sort of guardians to gather or something?” Tony asked. He was already queuing up contact info of those to notify. “We’re all going to meet at the San Ark. Can’t be too hard to find,” Rocket said. “Drax and I can just bring you guys with us.” Rocket would use a communicator to talk to the others but he did not have one on him. He had not anticipated someone using the emergency exit button. Tony looked dubious, like Rocket was talking about something alien. It made Rocket wonder if in the thirty some years Quill had been off world that this San Ark thing stopped existing. “Besides, I’ve got to go get Groot once this is fixed,” Rocket said. He returned to his jetpack. “How hard is it going to be finding a little tree in this place?” He knew how hard, but that was also why he needed to fix the jetpack. He needed to be able to outrun anyone who had problems with a talking raccoon and sentient toddler tree. Rocket hoped nothing too weird was happening with Groot. The first hour of riding in the back of the pickup was silent. Sam sat in the corner behind the driver’s seat and Gamora sat in the corner behind the passenger’s seat. Steve sat beside Sam. Gamora had a communicator but she kept it off for now. The middle window in the back of the cab was open so they could communicate with Wanda and Mantis once they were in a position talking would not disturb Wanda’s driving. The taiga was rough, but the truck was equipped for off-roading. After a while, they came to a gravel-road. “Should I?” Wanda asked. “Yeah,” Steve said quietly. The fire was behind them and still burned. The gravel was easier to travel than the taiga. After a few minutes, Mantis said, “It’s very quiet. Our friend always plays music when we travel.” “So the two of you work together?” Steve asked, his eyes moving from Mantis to Gamora and back. “Yes,” Mantis said. She turned her head to look back at Sam and Steve. “He loves music. His soul is full of music.” “Thanos’ soul is full of music?” Sam asked as if he officially had heard everything now. “No,” Mantis said. “Peter Quill’s soul is full of music. We’re here to stop Thanos. He’s not our friend.” “We’ve been tracking Thanos down for the last year,” Gamora said. “He’s after powerful weapons that are so powerful they require more than one being to use in most cases. He is so strong, he can use at least one if not more without assistance.” She took a breath. “As far as we know, he doesn’t posses any of them, but there are two on Terra and possibly two more that can be accessed from Terra.” Steve’s lips drew into an increasingly thin line as Gamora spoke. “How many of you are there?” “Six,” Gamora said. “When our ship was in orbit we were attacked by the Chitauri that followed us into your forest. If you know who Thanos is, you know what kind of threat will come, and he will come soon.” Steve looked down in thought and Sam kept his eyes on Gamora. Steve’s gaze swept over them from Sam to Wanda to Mantis and finally to Gamora. “What can we do to stop him? How can we help?” Gamora knew they would need any ally they could get. She began to explain the situation, keeping some details to herself for now. Groot woke up from his nap alone in Parker’s room. The sun was low in the sky and the room was very dim. Groot emerged from the towel and looked at a small post-it note on the arm of the small chair. He could not read English, though he saw Quill write in it from time to time. Groot sniffed the post-it and made a weird face before sticking it back onto the arm of the chair where he found it. He climbed up onto the window sill and let what sunlight could reach him touch him. It was nice. It was also really, really quiet. Groot remembered not to let Aunt May see him, whatever an Aunt May was. Parker said it was a father’s sister-in-law, but that explained nothing. Groot got down from the window sill and quietly went to the door. He peeked out into the hallway. There were no lights on upstairs, but there was a nightlight in the hallway. There were lights downstairs and he could hear the TV playing. Groot crept closer to the stairs, pausing every so often to stand perfectly still. It was a good camouflage tactic used on his home planet. The music from the TV drew Groot closer. The course said, “Tell me more. Tell me more,” but Groot did not need direct prompting. He settled onto one of the steps and peered through the balusters. A woman folded clothes while watching the TV where a group of adults pretending to be teenagers danced around a school ground singing about summer love. It was very colorful and very catchy. Groot let his legs dangle over the edge of the step. May Parker placed the folded laundry meant to go upstairs back into the basket. She left the television on and headed for the stairs. Groot was too engrossed in the continuing movie to realize he should move until he heard a very loud shout. “No! I will not have rats in my house!” May said. She kicked out at Groot who slipped between the balusters only to fall to the floor. May set her laundry down on a step and charged down to grab a broom. Groot got up and looked around. He ran under the sofa, but he was too big to fit. He tried under a chair, but again, he was just one size too big. He finally laid down under the coffee table and remained completely still. May approached and moved to stick the broom under the coffee table to help herd the presumed rat towards the door before she froze and blinked. “What…?” She took a step back and studied Groot. “You’re not a rat.” After a long moment of silence, Groot said, “I am Groot.” “I’m May Parker,” May said. Groot suddenly yelped and rolled out from under the coffee table. “I am Groot!” he exclaimed and prepared to run off. This was the Aunt May Parker told him to avoid probably. “Wait!” May said. “Wait. You’re not in trouble.” “I am Groot?” Groot asked. “Is that all you can say?” May asked. “I am Groot,” Groot said. He did not understand how Parker could understand him but May could not. “Well, ah…do you know Peter?” May asked. “I am Groot,” Groot said and nodded for emphasis. “I see,” May said. “He’s at a party right now. How about we call him?” she asked. Groot nodded. May took out her cellphone. Groot looked over his shoulder at the TV just as the song ended. His eyes sparkled a little and he settled down on the carpet to sit and watch. Movies were truly wonderful. He figured it would not hurt anything to keep watching the movie while May talked to Peter. Traveling northwest worked until the snow began to fall. While the truck was equipped for difficult weather and rough terrain, it was not wise to press their luck. They returned to the gravel road until they pulled off to take a break and change drivers. Wanda led Mantis to a water source in sight of the truck. It looked clear and flowed. Wanda knelt down and began to refill her canteens. “I will let you have one of these,” she said. “It’s not good to travel without water.” Mantis knelt beside Wanda and watched. “Is the god who controls your weather angry with you?” she asked. “What?” Wanda asked. “Sometimes planets are gods or controlled by gods,” Mantis said. “When mine was upset, he would make every day dark and cold.” She took the canteen carefully from Wanda once it was full. “What did you do about it?” Wanda asked. She filled the second canteen. “There was nothing I could do until the very end,” Mantis said. “I was brought there to help, not hurt.” She unscrewed the cap of the canteen and then screwed it back on, examining the design. “I did not want to think about it until I had to think about it.” Wanda screwed the cap onto her canteen and observed Mantis. “Did no one else think it was wrong?” “There was only Ego and me,” Mantis said. “Until my friends came, then we destroyed Ego and began hunting Thanos.” They lapsed into silence. Wanda stood up and then Mantis stood. Mantis did not take her eyes off Wanda. “May I touch your hand?” “What?” Wanda asked. “I want to know what you’re feeling,” Mantis said. “When I touch beings I can feel their emotions, all of them. I can also manipulate their moods. Ego used that in me to help him sleep.” “I feel worried,” Wanda said. She tied her canteen back to her belt. “Something is coming. It won’t end well.” Mantis nodded. She tied her canteen to her own belt since that was where canteens seemed to go. “I am worried too,” she said. Since Wanda did not agree to anything, Mantis put her hands in her pockets. Mantis looked over at Gamora who was trying to reach Quill on her communicator. “Gamora is strong,” Mantis said. “When she’s with me I feel like I can be strong too.” Wanda followed Mantis’ gaze. “We are also strong,” she said. “Hopefully strong enough.” They walked over to Gamora who was working on establishing contact with Quill. “Finally,” Quill said. In the background they could hear a radio commercial for a Back to the 80’s concert transitioned into “Rocket Man” by Elton John. “Where are you? Are you okay?” Mantis, Wanda, Sam, and Steve gathered around Gamora. “We’re fine,” Gamora said. “Mantis is with me. It’s snowing and there’s a lot of trees and bodies of water.” “How far north are you?” Quill asked after a pause. “How would I know?” Gamora asked genuinely. She did not know how she would know if she had never been to Earth before and did not know where Quill even was right now. “Peter, the Chitauri ship followed us. It sent some kind of signal to Thanos. I think we’ve got anywhere between three hours and three weeks before Thanos arrives. “Three’s more,” Gamora continued. “We met up with three people, one of whom can outrun a forest fire without getting winded or breaking a sweat.” “Is his name Steve?” Clint asked, voice muffled from behind on the opposite side of the truck from Quill. “It’s me,” Steve answered, speaking loud enough for Clint to hear but not so loud his voice would carry past the clearing. “From what I can tell, Gamora and Mantis are serious about stopping Thanos. They seem like,” a pause, “people we can work with.” “Quill seems that way to us too,” Clint said. “What we need to do is come up with a strategy,” Sam said. “Sounds like Thanos has been strategizing for a long time now. He probably already knows what he’s going to do after that big fireball appeared.” “I agree,” Gamora said. “We at least should assess where we are and if we can get together to talk about what we should do. We’ll need as many allies as we can get. Thanos has many armies at his disposal.” They began solidifying their plans. Gamora and Mantis’ group were about two to three days travel from where Quill’s group was. They decided to use Memorial Day weekend to their advantage and meet towards sunset to ensure most people would not be paying attention to them. When the conversation ended, Gamora checked to see if she could get in touch with Drax, Rocket, or Groot. None of them responded. She sighed and put her communicator away. The group got back into their truck, this time with Steve driving, and started back towards the gravel road that cut through the taiga. The first person to arrive at Tony’s place was James Rhodes, followed soon after by Vision. After an insanely long conversation with a go-between, Tony got T’Challa to agree to a video conference. Tony sighed. “Two more to go,” he said more to himself than anyone else. “Is there a reason there’s a talking raccoon making a jetpack?” Rhodey asked quietly so Rocket could not hear, but Rocket could hear. “Repairing a jetpack,” Tony clarified. “Same thing,” Rhodey said. “He fell from the sky. He’ll go find a talking tree once he’s done,” Tony said. “Of course he will,” Rhodey said. He accepted the glass of water Tony poured for him. “I am Vision,” Vision greeted Rocket. “Are you from Earth?” “No,” Rocket said. He was almost done with his repairs. He still had not decided if he should stick around to see what the people coming had to say or try to find Groot immediately. He knew that if he waited for dark, he might have a higher chance of running into fewer problems, but he also did not like that Groot had been out there somewhere alone for such a long time. He looked up at Vision then blinked. “So you really do wear that thing on your forehead?” Rocket heard the rumors some idiot was running around with an Infinity Stone out in plain sight. He did not expect this. “It’s embedded,” Vision said. “Without it, I would cease to exist.” “That’s…” Rocket’s voice trailed. “So, you’ll be the center of the action then.” “Mr. Stark,” FRIDAY said, “Dr. Banner, Thor, and an unidentifiable have arrived.” “Good. Send them up,” Tony said. Rocket did not have to be told that Thor was an Odinson. Asgard was legendary even in Rocket’s part of the galaxy, not only for its wealth and strength, but also the fact it was exceedingly hard to enter unless through specific routes. Bruce Banner, however, looked completely unremarkable even though he also wore clothes befitting of the more well-known worlds connected by Yggdrasil. “Friends,” Thor greeted Tony, Rhodey, and Vision, “and…new friend,” he greeted Rocket. “Hey,” Rocket replied. “New haircut?” Tony asked. “Yes,” Thor said. “I reunited with Banner in the gladiatorial pit. We won many battles. Unfortunately short hair is a requirement.” “Gladiators? Isn’t that more of a Roman thing?” Tony asked. “Sakaar is not one of the realms,” Thor said, “but we were able to return to the realms.” “We fought in the Ragnarök,” Bruce said quietly. “It didn’t go according to the prophecy.” Drax approached Rocket as Thor and Bruce gave Tony, Rhodey, and Vision the details. “Where are the others?” he asked. “I imagined the ark would have more animals in it than you and the humans.” “This isn’t our meeting place,” Rocket said. “I’m still not sure where San Ark is anyway.” He flipped a switch and his jetpack whooshed quietly. He turned it off. He could retrieve Groot when he was ready. “I wonder if it still exists,” Drax said. “Quill said he has not been here since he was a boy. If someone travels the stars and returns, he is always younger.” “We’ll figure something out,” Rocket said. “I know we have to,” Tony said loud enough that Drax and Rocket looked at the humans, android, and demigod in the room. Tony took a deep breath. “Look, just…I can fight on the same battlefield. I’m not going to run away from this, but I’d rather not talk to him. I don’t have to talk to him to fight with him. Whatever this battle is going to be it’ll be bigger than both of us anyway.” “We could discuss a truce,” Thor suggested, “and then toast to putting this aside and figh –” “You weren’t there. You don’t know,” Tony said in a tense, quiet whisper. Bruce held up his hands. “How about we just…use Thor as a go between? Thor probably gave Steve a communicator too. You two won’t even have to sneeze at each other. No drinks necessary. The truce is already unspoken, no one wants to fight each other while we fight a galactic super power. Have you contacted Natasha yet? She’s probably in the middle of this already.” “I was about to contact her,” Tony said. He sighed and rubbed his face. “King T’Challa is on standby, sir,” FRIDAY said. “Good,” Tony said. He pressed some buttons and T’Challa appeared on a screen nearby. They got hold of Natasha and went through some brief introductions before getting down to business. “The power Thanos seeks are the Infinity Stones,” Thor explained to make sure everyone was on the same page. “The Space Stone is blue and it is what allowed Loki to open a dimensional portal for the Chitauri to attack this city six of your years ago. The Reality Stone is a red stone and it became the Aether. It is the reason that the Svartálfar invaded Midgard not even two years after. Both of these are kept in very secure locations that even I am not aware.” Thor paused. “Not long ago word reached Asgard that a group calling themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy used the Power Stone to stop Ronan the Destroyer. Where that stone is I cannot say.” Drax almost said something but Rocket shook his head. They remained quiet. “Another stone I am unware of its location is the Time Stone,” Thor said. “I heard it was green and had the power to manipulate time to varying degrees. There are rumors it appeared on Earth but I have no evidence. However,” Thor approached Vision, “we all know where the Mind Stone is. Thanos will come for it first.” “Then I am a target and a danger,” Vision said. “Yes,” Thor agreed, “but the danger of allowing Thanos to wield the Mind Stone is infinitely greater a threat than protecting you and the Stone from Thanos.” “Has anyone checked on whoever’s guarding the Space and Reality Stones?” T’Challa asked. “Are they still secure?” “Yes,” Thor said. “The beings still stand.” Thor frowned. “While we were on Sakaar and after our battles in Asgard, I heard many things. Whatever Thanos is planning it will be bigger than any battle we have fought as a team. We must unite with each other and with the Guardians of the Galaxy and whoever else we can bring into the fight that will give us an advantage. We likely have little time.” “Where are the rest of you guys anyway?” Rhodey asked Rocket and Drax. “We kind of ran into some technical difficulties,” Rocket said. “When we came into orbit, we got hit with a Chitauri ship and one of our crew decided to eject us from the ship. He’s like two or something. It happens. Before we left the ship, we decided to meet at a San Ark, so we go there, the rest of us will be there.” There was a a small pause and then the holoscreen that represented Natasha made a small noise like a sputter. “Saint Louis arch!” Quill said. Another silence followed since they were all under the impression Natasha was alone. Then Rocket asked, “How was I supposed to know? It’s not like we talked about it. Besides, who makes an arch significant landmark anyway?” “The city of Saint Louis for one,” Quill said. “Paris for another.” “I don’t know where either of those are,” Rocket said in a no duh kind of voice. “How would I know where either of those are?” He shook his head. “If the Guardians have a meeting place then perhaps some of us should go there to meet with them,” Vision suggested. “We could also provide a swift exit in case we have to make the ‘shooting a found footage movie’ excuse,” Tony said. “We could meet on Memorial Day,” Natasha suggested. “We can use the crowds to our advantage.” “Maybe meet around sunset?” Quill said. “That way people will be paying attention to the river more than the people.” “How crowded does it get there anyway?” Bruce asked. No one knew. The last time any of them had been there was when Quill went with his grandpa in the late 80’s. They began to plan what they could and then T’Challa left the conversation and then Natasha and Quill left the conversation. The room was silent for a long time. “I should go find Groot,” Rocket said. “Before you go..,” Tony said and after some searching, he handed Rocket a smartphone. “If you get into trouble, press the helmet icon and it will call me directly.” Rocket turned the smartphone over in his paws. He put it in his bag and then headed out the way he entered the penthouse earlier that afternoon. Rocket set off from the penthouse’s landing strip and flew past neon signs and buildings, heading as fast as he could in the direction he saw Groot disappear. He honestly did not know how he would find Groot. Rocket dodged drones and birds. He ignored shocked shouts when someone happened to glance out a window while he flew past. Rocket slowed when he got to the approximate area. It was residential. He stopped the music and hissed, “Groot!” knowing Groot could hear him even if he was super quiet. “Groot!” He landed on the sidewalk and slunk into a nearby yard. “Groot!” He approached a window and peeked in. There were two young kids and a babysitter watching TV. Rocket moved along the street, sticking close to the houses. When Peter Parker hurried down the sidewalk, Rocket hid behind some rose bushes. Once Parker was gone, Rocket continued his search. “NO!” a voice behind Rocket from inside a nearby house shrieked. “No! Bad raccoon!” Rocket blinked “What the f –” He turned around in time to get a very, very bright light shone in his face. A speaker nearby began to blare, “Blinded by the Light” by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band so loud it hurt Rocket’s ears. Rocket ran. The music continued to blare, but once he reached the Parker residence, there were enough buildings between them to make it tolerable. Once the song ended, the music stopped. Rocket’s ears still rung. “I am Groot,” a voice said from the house Rocket hid beside. Rocket froze. “I am Groot,” Groot said, thanking someone. “How do we know this isn’t going to turn out like Gremlins?” May asked. “Don’t feed him after midnight?” Parker asked. Rocket peeked in the window slowly. Groot was walking over to the TV while May and Parker stood with their backs to the window. Groot looked hydrated and healthy. There did not seem to be any danger and Groot looked happy. Rocket hesitated and then he lowered his head below the window. If he knew where Groot was and Groot was okay, did he have to take Groot back with him right now? It would also be easier to collect Groot if Quill was there judging by the weird light and music display down the street. There was a small chirp to Rocket’s left. He ignored it. The chirp sounded again. Rocket looked at the source and saw a raccoon staring at him. The raccoon let out a small purring noise. “Uh…” Rocket’s voice trailed. The raccoon inched closer and chirped again. “…No. No thanks,” Rocket said, not really sure what the raccoon meant. The raccoon drew closer and purred again. “Just go…do whatever you guys do,” Rocket said and stood up, taking a step back. He engaged his jetpack and took off into the air as the end to “Blinded by the Light” echoed into the night, muttering “Trash panda,” under his breath. The Saint Louis Arch was currently under renovations. Even though no one could go into the structure, there were people enjoying the designated picnic areas. The Mississippi River flowed along the eastern bank, and the sunset began to decorate the old courthouse to the west. Quill, Natasha, and Clint sat in the open enjoying the music from a nearby radio station truck and the view. Quill hoped it would not be too hard for everyone to get a ticket into the grounds. “I like the music, but I could go for some metal once in a while,” Natasha said. Peter and Clint followed her gaze. They could see Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Thor, and Drax approach. Their clothes did not look expensive and they almost blended into the crowd except Vision’s face under his hood was clearly not a flesh tone. No one in the crowd seemed to notice this, most people continuing to go about their business. “I dunno,” Clint said, “I wouldn’t mind a good round of ‘God Bless America.’” From the other end of the park, Steve, Sam, Wanda, Gamora, and Mantis entered. The three native to Earth wore non-descript clothing. Gamora and Mantis still wore what they arrived on Earth with. All of them had what looked like convention badges as though they had an afternoon of fun and now came to watch the sunset. Most people did not take notice, and those who did started whispering about makeup and prosthetics skills. Quill stood up and waved to both groups as ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends,” by War began to play from the radio van’s speakers. Gamora, Mantis, and Drax gravitated to him immediately. Steven then Sam then Wanda then Natasha then Mantis then Clint then Quill then Gamora then Drax then Thor then Vision then Rhodey then Tony made a curved line. No one said a word. “Where’s Rocket and Groot?” Quill whispered to Drax. “Rocket stayed behind with Banner. He said Groot is safe,” Drax said. Quill nodded. When it appeared no one was going to say anything, he took a deep breath. “Anyway…hi. Thanks for coming. I’m Star Lord,” after some looks he said, “most call me Peter. I’m part of the Guardians of the Galaxy and we’ve come to kick Thanos’ ass. All your help is appreciated.” He reached down to a cooler nearby. “I brought some hot dogs and some veggie dogs I grilled at a park earlier. I’m not sure if they’re good or not. I had a soda for the first time in like almost thirty years yesterday and it was not what I was expecting at all.” “In a good way or a bad way?” Vision asked. “Huh?” Quill asked. Then he seemed to process the question. “I don’t know. It’s just not what I remember drinking.” He opened another cooler. “We also got some water bottles. Figured we might as well eat.” The groups eyed each other and then Steve and Tony both sat. The rest followed. There were enough dogs for everyone to have two. The sun continued to lower in the sky. They remained quiet, some more tense and others more relaxed. Quill looked at the arch, his eyes following it from one end to the other. “Okay, I have to ask,” Rhodey said after he finished a hot dog, “why the arch?” “Uh…well,” Quill thought about how to answer, “it’s easy to find. I grew up not far from here actually.” “It is…. What does it do?” Thor asked. “You go up to the top and look at the city from the observation deck,” Quill said. “They built it when my mom was a kid.” Everyone’s eyes were on the arch as they watched the sky grow darker and darker, almost at a faster rate than it should during a normal sunset. “Guys,” Natasha said in a warning tone. The darkness became a void. A large ship appeared as “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” by Three Dog Night began to play from the abandoned radio van. Ordinary people on the grounds ran as fast as they could, abandoning what they could not carry. Tony and Rhodey encased themselves in their suits. Gamora put her hand on the hilt of her sword. “I thought you said the Space Stone was secure,” Tony said. “It was,” Thor said. “When I returned to Asgard, it was still secure in the vault.” Lights across the river began to flicker and then go out and soon lights around the arch and the city went out as well. The only light came from the almost full moon rising steadily. Quill touched a button near his ear and activated his space helmet so the eyes would allow him to discern friend from foe. “Protect Vision,” Steve said. “Get him out of here.” “Thor, you’re the demi-god,” Tony said. “Get him back to that location.” Vision hesitated. “Tony –” “Go with him,” Tony said. “We can’t lose you.” Vision and Thor disappeared into the darkness. The Daughters of Thanos drew closer, the lights of their jetpacks showing their locations before they dropped to the grass. Quill, Tony, and Rhodey took to the air since their vision technology was the best of the group. Drax shot up after the group in the sky once his eyes became accustomed to the moonlight. The rest of the Avengers and Guardians drew into a circle with their backs to one another. None of the Daughters of Thanos looked like each other. Many were humanoid, but there was at least one that looked like a person-sized biped lizard, and there were a few Daughters that moved on four legs when waling. Many had mechanical parts like Nebula. Few, like Gamora, were completely flesh still. Gamora had fought almost all of them and those she had not fought before she saw fight others. She drew her sword and stilled her breath. The clash on the ground came from all sides. Wanda used her magic to throw those charging towards her to the side. Mantis positioned her hands and waited for skin to grab, concentrating on thinking about sleep and peace. Natasha used her dual guns to pick off Daughters before they got too close. Gamora clashed with her sword, holding her ground while trying to evade attacks. Steve grabbed a heavy cooler nearby and used it as a shield between him and the Daughters while also using it offensively to strike blows. Sam took out a knife with a long blade and hoped he could figure out where to slice the aliens for maximum blood loss. Clint had his bow and arrows, shooting strategically. Some arrows exploded on contact and the shrapnel dispersed into the wave of attackers. Several of the larger, quadrupedal Daughters charged Wanda, Natasha, and Mantis at the same time several Daughters from the sky dropped down and lifted Steve, Sam, and Wanda into the air. With the circle broken, Thanos’ forces on the ground swarmed. Gamora ducked and swung, striking her targets. Natasha kicked one of the Daughters charging in the face and Mantis grabbed another, sending her into a deep slumber before touching the Daughter Natasha kicked, sending her into a deep sleep too. Quill continued to fire at any target he could. He watched the Daughters who picked their targets up shoot high into the air. “Shit,” Quill said. He shot at another Daughter and then flew towards them, not sure what he could do to help all three of them. Sam managed to drive his knife into the neck of his captor. Once the Daughter died, they remained in the air due to the jet pack. Sam used the controls to lower the dead body and himself to the ground. Wanda damaged her captor’s jetpack and sent the Daughter spiraling to the ground while Wanda’s powers kept her in the air. She began attacking the Daughters around her, sparks of red lighting up the aerial battle. Quill saw Clint look at him just before Clint’s captor released him. Clint fell through the air and shot an arrow, striking the Daughter in the jetpack engine, causing an explosion. Quill managed to get below Clint fast enough to catch him. Quill returned Clint to the ground. They joined the fight on the ground, Clint collecting arrows from dead bodies. Drax was aggressive with his battle style. He slashed, stabbed, and headbutted his way through the sky. Each opponent was a challenge and each was more skilled than the last. He ploughed his elbow into the middle of the lizard Daughter and she bit him on the shoulder. Drax stabbed her in the sides and watched her drop to the ground. Then his vision began to blur. His head felt too light and his feet too heavy. He touched a button on his jetpack but it did not respond. He tried to press harder but it felt like her could barely push it at all. He slowly fell through the air to the ground as he blacked out. It did not feel like progress, but they were slowly making it. Gamora knew there could be a second wave of her sisters, but she was not sure when it would come. She felt a sting along her ankles that quickly began to move up her legs. Multiple something were attacking from outside her clothes. She sprung into the air with her jetpack and kicked, but the stinging persisted. Soon the Daughters of Thanos began to falter in their attacks. Many took to the air like Gamora. Gamora felt a sting on her hand that then became a pain as if something was trying to eat her flesh. Quill started shouting nearby and also took to the air. “Shit. Fuck. What the hell?!” A large humming drew closer like a wave of stinging insects. The wasps began to target anyone who was not an Avenger. “Shit,” Clint said. “Shit! You’re attacking our allies too!” he shouted. “Scott! Stop!” There was a sudden pause and the biting ants and stinging wasps stopped but did not retreat. There was a harsh smell of various metals in the air, like a mixture of bloods that also did not smell like blood at the same time. Some of the Daughters of Thanos dropped to their knees or passed out completely, their bodies unable to handle the insect toxins in their bodies. Suddenly, a large man in a head to toe suit appeared towards the north side of the main battle. Scot Lang stood ten foot tall in the Giant Man form of his suit. He picked one of the Daughters of Thanos out of the sky and threw her at the hovering spacecraft on the other side of the river. The spacecraft shot a beam out, incinerating the incoming warrior and anything in its path. Several Daughters of Thanos hovered mid-air once the beam passed through them and then one by one each of the Daughters’ jetpacks exploded and Tony’s suit exploded milliseconds after the closest daughters to him did. Guts and shrapnel showered down on anyone near the explosions. The next blast from the ship shot at the giant man, who ducked out of the way before shrinking down to blend into the crowd. This time Daughters scrambled out of the way as best they could an only a few did not survive. Quill found Gamora in the air. “What can we do?” Daughters began to return to the ship. As long as they approached on their own volition, the ship did not shoot at them. “We have to go,” Gamora said. She pinched the last remaining ant and sent it towards the ground. “What are these things?” “Red ants,” Quill said. He looked around for somewhere they could go that wouldn’t harm people if the ship followed. Suddenly Scott Lang appeared across the shore, directly under the spaceship. He leapt into the air and punched his fist into the hull of the spaceship. When he landed on the ground, it caused the area nearby to quake. He jumped and punched the hull again, causing a loud cracking noise to echo through the immediate river valley. The void reopened and the ship escaped through it. Giant Man shrank out of sight. Gamora and Quill landed at Drax’s side where Mantis was already trying to move him. “I put Drax to sleep so he could heal. He’s very wounded.” Quill wrapped one of Drax’s arms around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around Drax’s waist. He used impulse power on Drax’s jetpack to help carry him. “I’m out of ideas about what we’re doing next,” he said. “We’ll let them lead,” Gamora said. “Stay alert. This isn’t right.” Sam landed nearby and removed one of the Daughter’s jetpacks he took during the battle. He looked at Wanda. “I can’t find Steve.” “I saw him fighting not long ago,” Wanda said. She drew her magic to her hands. “I can check for his breath.” A thin red mist spread from Wanda’s fingers as she detected vibrations in the air. Tony and Rhodey landed not far away. Wanda’s eyes widened. “They’re –” Half the Daughters lying on the ground stood up and pressed the detonation devices on their jetpacks. At the same time, one of them shot something towards Tony’s suit. It was sticking and large and the stickiness began to grow, oozing into joints to make the suit harder to remove. “Uh…” Tony was half way out of the suit, but the stickiness grew, clinging to bits of fabric of his clothes once his clothes were exposed. “This is a message from Thanos,” the large lizard said. “He remembers New York and he will not allow it to happen again.” Rhodey moved towards Tony to help. “No!” Tony said. “Everyone, get away!” he tried to put his suit back on, but the sticky mass prevented most of the suit from returning. Tony found enough suit to propel himself into the air just in time for the sticky bomb to detonate. Shrapnel and flesh rained down on everyone. Only the parts of Tony encased in his suit remained. Within seconds, the remaining Daughters detonated their jetpacks, the force of their explosion sending those alive and corpses flying. The grass caught fire. It took a moment before Gamora realized she’d landed several feet away from her original position. The ringing in her ears eased away and she stood. The moon showed a mass of bodies and body parts scattered across the grounds. She looked around near her and found Mantis, who was still alive, and helped Mantis to her feet. Quill and Drax were farther away and closer to the detonation point, but both were still breathing. As far as she could tell, the void was gone and the threat from her sisters gone. “Sam! Sam,” Wanda said nearby where she knelt over him. “I’m – I’m still here,” Sam murmured and sat up slowly. “Where’s Steve?” “I cannot find him,” Wanda said. Clint stood up and rubbed his face. He had his weight on his right leg as though his left leg was too injured to stand on. Natasha and Rhodey walked towards the north and stopped after several paces. Natasha kept one of her arms close to her body as though it were injured. Rhodey removed his armor and Natasha’s posture straightened. Suddenly two people appeared beside Sam and Wanda. Hope Pym stood beside Scott dressed in a similar suit to his, but with a more wasp-like color motif. “What happened?” she asked quietly. “Tony Stark is dead,” Clint said. He found some twisted metal he could use as a makeshift cane. “We can’t stay here. Now that the ship is gone, the police and press will show up soon.” Quill got to his feet and pulled Drax up with him with help from Gamora. “Where do we go?” he asked. Rhodey found a picnic blanket and wrapped what remained of Tony in it. He walked back towards the others with Natasha a step behind him. “We have to go,” he said. “Everyone can come.” He encased himself in the suit and took to the air. Wanda had enough energy to transport Natasha with her magic. Gamora helped Sam with her jet pack and Mantis helped Clint with her jetpack. Quill was at the end of the line with Drax. It was a short flight to the north and across the river to a set of three islands. There was an aircraft concealed in the trees. The group touched down and approached. Rhodey retracted his suit and then pressed a button on the watch it became. The cargo doors opened. Thor and Vision were prepared to fight back, but when they saw it was a group of allies, their postures relaxed. “We were undisturbed,” Thor said. “Apart from an earthquake,” Vision said and paused, seeming to take a headcount. “Two are missing.” “No,” Rhodey said and set the bundle of body parts down in a seat. He fastened the bundle in so it would return to the tower intact and undisturbed. He rubbed his face and went to the pilot seat. Everyone else filed into the aircraft and took seats, leaving the row Tony was in alone. Quill sat in the copilot seat, not sure where else to be. Rhodey took a deep breath and ran through the pre-flight checklist and then the craft rose straight into the air like a helicopter but without the blades. Memorial Day in New York City carried on like any other Memorial Day. There were parades, pool openings, and cookouts. Parker and May were gone since that morning leaving Groot to his own devices. He watched some TV, played around with a bucket full of water they left him in the shower, and watched the neighbors and street activity. The front door opened and closed. “Hey, Groot!” Parker called out. “I am Groot!” Groot said. He used his branches to swing off the stair railing and fling himself towards Parker. Parker caught him. “Hey. Do you want to get out of the house?” “I am Groot,” Groot affirmed. “Okay,” Parker said. “If you promise to stay in my backpack, I can show you something really cool, okay?” “I am Groot,” Groot said. He could promise that. Parker got his bag and packed it with some extra water bottles. He placed Groot inside and zipped it up so that the top was open but not so open people could see inside it. “How’s that feel? Is it too stuffy?” Groot waited a few moments. “I am Groot,” he said. It would suffice. They traveled by foot for some distance and then they took to the air. Groot could not see much asides from buildings and sky flashing by as they seemed to swing through the air. After much swinging, they stopped moving. “I am Groot?” Groot asked quietly. “Yeah, we’re there,” Parker said. He unzipped the bag. Groot let out a very loud, very high-pitched shriek. Hovering over the bag was something that was red and blue with giant white eyes. Groot continued to shriek and attacked with is branches. “Wait! Hey! It’s me!” Parker said. “Groot!” Groot peered out of the bag. Parker had the mask pulled up to his forehead. It was definitely him under that second skin. Groot slowly poked his head out the bag. They were on top of a building. There was no one else around. “I am Groot,” Groot said. “Prove I’m me?” Parker asked. He frowned and then removed the second skin from his right hand. He showed Groot his wrist. “This is my costume,” he said. “See? It’s my hand, my arm.” “I am Groot,” Groot said, noting the place where the webbing could come out of Parker’s wrist. “Well, it…uh…does this,” Parker said and he shot a bit of webbing at the rim of the rooftop, creating a small web. Groot got out of the bag and went over to the web. He poked it gently. “I am Groot.” “Yeah, it can be like that,” Parker said. He reached into the bag and retrieved a small bag of potting soil. “Want a snack?” “I am Groot,” Groot agreed and took the bag from Parker, picking bits of dirt out with his branches to eat. Parker got out a bag of chips and settled down on the roof near the rim. Groot climbed up onto his lap and the two looked out at the sunset gleaming against all the buildings in the city. Parker put on some music and “Iron” by Woodkid began to play. Groot watched the sky change colors and the sun grow larger and redder. He finished his soil and drank some water as Parker’s music continued to play. When the sun finished setting, Groot stood up and said. “I am Groot.” Groot wanted to swing through the city where he could really see instead of being stuck in the bookbag. “You’re really small. It might not be a good idea,” Parker said. “I am Groot.” Groot was not that small. He had grown so much since he was still in a pot on the ship. “People might see you,” Parker said. Groot looked at the Spider-Man suit and then at Parker’s face. “I am Groot.” There was no way Groot looked weirder or would attract more attention than that costume. “You shouldn’t say the f-word you know,” Parker said. “What if Aunt May hears that?” “I am Groot.” Aunt May could not hear that well. Parker sighed. “I’ll let you stick your head out until we have to walk.” Groot agreed and they made sure he could see without falling if they ended up upside down. Once Groot was in the bookbag, they were off across the city again. Groot’s eyes grew wide. It was amazing to feel the rush of air, see the lights and buildings zooming past. They made a pitstop for Parker to change clothes and then Groot spent the walk home deeper in the bookbag. When the group left in the late afternoon, Rocket had to stay behind because Terra was apparently not ready for a “walking, talking sass raccoon,” and Bruce elected to stay behind for reasons Rocket did not know, though he could guess introversion was a factor. Rocket continued making a particle gun from scratch and Bruce worked at correlating what they knew about Thanos. When it got to be suppertime, Bruce was willing to cook and Rocket was willing to eat anything. Bruce made fried noodles with vegetables and fried tofu. It was spicy and had a sweet twinge to it from sweet chili paste Rocket found in the pantry. Rocket set his bowl down after licking off every last drop and then leaned back on the kitchen stool. “How long does it take to get to this St. Louis place anyway?” “In Tony’s jet? Probably an hour or so. He still has to coordinate with the FAA, so maybe an hour and a half,” Bruce said. He picked their bowls up and took them to the sink to rinse them out. “They’re probably staring each other down as we speak.” Once the dishes were rinsed, he set them in a slot in the wall that would carefully take the dish to a main dishwasher to be cleaned. They went back to the workroom and Bruce turned on a screen, choosing a local channel that would be likely to interrupt programming with any breaking news. Rocket continued wiring his gun, but the movie on the television kept drawing his attention. It was about this robot that had come to Earth to destroy some woman who was probably going to hook up with the male protagonist at some point. From what Rocket could tell, Bruce was not paying attention to it at all. It was probably a little over an hour since the sun set in New York, when the station showed the local news logo and the newscaster appeared on screen. “We’re sorry to interrupt your Memorial Day, but we have breaking news from St. Louis.” Rocket and Bruce turned their attention to the screen. “The footage we’re about to show you is a life, unedited feed from a hotel room near the action. Discretion is advised.” The footage showed an alien spaceship near the full moon rising behind the arch. It showed some of the Daughters of Thanos dropping down to the ground out of frame to fight while others engaged Quill, Iron Man, and War Machine in the air. Soon Drax joined them. The last light of the sunset disappeared and only the moonlight and light from jetpacks and attacks illuminated anything. Whenever the footage cut out, there was always another stream from somewhere else to take its place. Rocket and Bruce continued to watch. Then there was a large beam blast from the spaceship. The feed cut out. Groot woke when he heard a spaceship’s canon fire. “I am Groot! I am Groot!” he said, but soon realized he was not on board his ship and his friends were not here. He looked at the television. He did not remember falling asleep, but he must have when the movie they were watching about lions started playing a song about feeling the love tonight. “…we’re trying to find another feed,” one newscaster said. “There’s no word yet if any Avengers were in that blast.” Groot looked at Parker then. The teen had his arms on his thighs and had bitten his nails almost to the point there was nothing left to bite. Parker’s eyes did not leave the screen. His entire body was tense. “I am Groot…?” Groot asked tentatively. “Shhh,” Parker said. “…This feed comes from Drury Plaza Hotel…” the newscaster droned on as the screen switched from the studio to a blurry image of the battle raging. Again the spacecraft fired its canon. Groot and Parker watched the aftermath quietly. The newscasters only spoke to explain to anyone tuning in what was going on. When Giant Man sent the spaceship away, the cameras all suddenly cut out and there were no more live feeds. “I am Groot!” Groot said and he jumped off the couch. He ran towards the door. He was going to help his friends. He wasn’t going to let them just lie there. He could remember Yondu lying in his casket during the funeral and he did not want that for any of them. “Groot!” Parker charged after him. “Groot! No!” He shot his web at the door handle so it would be stuck to the door molding. Groot started banging on the door. Parker picked him up and Groot became a mass of branches trying to break the web and get out. “Groot! They’re in St. Louis! We’d have to go by plane! I don’t have that kind of money!” “I am Groot!” Groot didn’t care. He needed to know his friends were okay. “We could call them! We can talk to them!” Parker said. He kept a tight grip on the thrashing plant. “I am –” Groot paused when the news made its breaking news fanfare, “Groot?” he finished quieter. Parker turned around so they could both see the television. Groot stopped thrashing. Tony Stark’s picture appeared to the left of the newscaster with 1970 – 2018 written underneath. Parker wrapped his arms around Groot more like Groot was a stuffed animal than insolent toddler. “…reports that Tony Stark has died,” the newscaster said. “Multiple sources can confirm based on video evidence and eyewitness testimony that the billionaire was killed when a space ship attacked those fighting at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. There has been no official word from Stark Enterprises, but we suspect they will confirm his death before morning.” Parker’s grip tightened around Groot. He swallowed hard. The news split the screen with a helicopter view of the battle site. There were few corpses. They could see firefighters approaching the scene. “..We’re expecting an update from the local fire chief and police chief within the hour,” the newscaster continued. “I am Groot,” Groot said. The Peter he knew cried. It was probably something Peters did. Paker snuffled loudly. He set Groot down and picked up his phone. His hands shook as he typed a message into it. When he went to hit send, the phone rang and he dropped it. He cursed under his breath and picked it up, answering it. “Hel –” Parker cleared his throat to make it sound stronger, “Hello?” “Hi, it’s me,” Happy Hogan said and then after a pause he said, “Happy Hogan.” Parker gripped the phone tightly. He could not even open his mouth. “Peter? Are you there?” Happy asked. “I just…Are you sitting?” “Y – Yeah. Sure,” Parker said even though he still stood. “It’s bad news. I…” Happy paused as though picking out the right words and realizing there were none. “Is he…?” Parker asked and slowly sat down on the floor. “Y – Yeah,” Happy said. “I’m really sorry, Peter.” His voice was very thin. Parker’s hands shook too much for him to keep holding the phone and it fell into his lap. He put his hands over his eyes and began to sob. Groot hesitated and then he toddled over and wrapped his branches around Parker. Groot did not know what to say. He let Parker cry. The medical facility at the tower was fully staffed. The Guardians gathered in a corner left to their own devices, letting the staff take care of the Avengers since the staff had more experience with that than treating beings who were not from Earth. They could see Sam and Wanda sitting on the same hospital bed talking quietly. Natasha had her right arm in a sling while waiting on a cast. Clint’s leg was still being set. Thor stood off to the side, thinking deeply. Bruce helped the medical staff take care of patients. Rhodey, Pepper, Happy, and Vision were elsewhere. Drax abruptly threw up. “Hey! Watch it!” Quill said at the same time Rocket said, “Give us a warning!” “It has exited my body. I do not need to be here,” Drax said. “Let’s just…stay together a little longer,” Gamora said, glad to be standing on the opposite side of the hospital bed. “The thing I don’t get is how is your arm that big?” Rocket asked Quill. “I’m allergic to wasps like my mom,” Quill said. He had his jacket off now. The site of the sting on his right hand looked angry and his entire arm from finger tips to elbow was swollen. “I just need some Benadryl and a gallon of Gatorade.” “I tried to tell them not to sting you,” Mantis said. “It was easier to influence the ones that crawled more than the ones that flew.” Scott and Hope approached the Guardians and introduced themselves. Hope had some ice packs. “We’re sorry about the attack,” she said and held out the ice packs that were already wrapped in cloths. “Ice can help with the bites.” Gamora studied the packs a moment and then took one of the packs cautiously. After about an hour after the ant attack, the pain of the bites had reduced. She placed the ice pack on her arm and found that it did help what pain remained. “You probably didn’t know,” Quill said, trying to stand a little straighter. It was hard to look cool when one of his arms was swollen all to hell. He took two ice packs and put them on his forearms. “We owe you a beer or something when this is all over,” Scott said. End Draft After this point, Steve's body is in posession of the government. There are funerals. I was kind of stuck because I was trying to figure out how exactly I wanted to do these funerals. What time of day? Where are they burried? The government has Steve's body for experimentation so what do the Avengers bury in his stead? Sam and Rhodey take over command of the Avengers. Bucky's brought out of cryosleep and Loki also joins in on things because this is so much bigger than past problems and the Avengers/Guardians need all the help they can get. Nova shows up because like hell she's going to miss this. Groot and Parker show up to help too. Thanos has possession of all of the Infinity Stones. The final confrontation is very brutal. Not sure who all would die, which is another reason for the delay in finishing this. Slowly the stones are stripped away from him. Vision is restored, Loki uses the Tesseract to help rather than hurt, etc...Eventually after much struggle and problems, Thanos is defeated. How exactly is a good question, it's another reason that I kind of stalled out on this thing. The ending, however, was much clearer to me than this middle to almost end bit. Once the dust is settled and it's time for everyone to go home, the Guardians (what remains of them?) head to their ship, which has been rescued and restored. They're standing outside of it along with what remains of the Avengers, X-Men, whoever, etc.... The Guardians think Quill will remain on Earth. It's his home after all and the place he's longed to see again. They all know how much this means to him and they expect him to want to stay. Except, Quill's been gone since 1988. The food's different, his extended family is either dead or wouldn't realize who he was anyway. His mother is dead. While it was great to visit Earth and full of nostalgia, the Guardians are his family and space is his home, though he will always love what he knows of Earth. So in the end, the Guardians zoom off back into space to the tune of like "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge or something in that vein. The End

#my fanfics #my fanfics 2017 #my wip fanfics #guardians of the galaxy fanfics #mcu fanfics #avengers fanfics #crossover fanfics #wip fanfics

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