Chapter 1
The night air was cold and refreshing. It filled Nebula’s lungs with oxygen as she supported Tony down the stairs.
Maybe, she would have preferred to die. Thanos could still want her. Her service disguised as ‘family’ and his tortures described as love.
They stumbled down the stairs. She remembered sitting on them with Gamora under the bright pink sky of planet 45 with the tall grass fluttering around them as she laughingly described Quill’s attempts to get her attention.
Tony wobbled and she tightened her grip on him.
‘Probably should have been the other way round.’ She thought as a man with hair brushed back from his face and an expression like a golden retriever rushed forward to guide Tony off across the grass. She was seventeen and he was about forty or something he should have been supporting her but, like always, other people were more important than her. Other lives more valuable, and other mentalities more sacred.
‘I lost the kid.’ He whispered.
Nebula resisted the urge to familiar roll her eyes and the less familiar urge to burst into tears.
‘Oh, wow, a whole kid! I just lost everyone who I ever met to the hands of my father who literally replaced parts of my body with robotic parts but yes, the kid.’
They said there were three reactions to shock, surprise and pain. Fight, flight or freeze.
Nebula defiantly fought. She could feel anger brushing at the bottom of her grief.
‘If he’d done more then Gamora could still be alive.’ Heck, she’d take Drax or Mantis at this point. She would even accepted Quill as a friend to be walking down these stairs with.
Nebula felt suddenly scared. If she left this ship then she was accepting their help and their dominance. She was only a teenager. What were the chances that they let her find Rocket or Groot (‘If they were still live’) and flee back into space.
None. Not one chance.
She stopped and stared at the group of people. They looked like they’d judge her. What is they found out she was Thanos’s daughter? What would they do to her?
‘Tony we lost.’ Said golden retriever man.
‘Yeah, no shit.’
Tony hugged the blonde woman. And then they walked away.
It was stupid to believe he would stay.
Stupid to believe that anyone, anyone, would care enough about her to take her with them (even if she did not want to go), to offer he help or company or anything.
Stupid. Just like she’d always been.
Stupid, just like she was every time that she pleaded for mercy. For Thanos to leave her alone.
Nebula sunk down onto the steps of Quill’s ship. Staring into the distance up, up at the bright specs that were galaxy’s she knew and loved.
She felt a slight weight next to her. Looking around it was Rocket. No Groot, just Rocket.
An overwhelming sense of relief washed over her.
Relief that she had someone. That she wouldn’t have to face this, hard cold planet alone.
Relief that it hadn’t been her fault that all the guardians where gone.
Relief that it hadn’t been Thano’s last punishment to her to strip away everyone that she knew and loved just so she’d go crawling back to him.
She felt wiry fur patting her hand repeatedly. Understanding what he wanted she reached out her hand a little and he put his paw in her hand and she closed her fingers.
It felt safe, somehow, having someone to hold onto when everyone was gone.
She let go and let a small sob escape her lips. And. A second later the first tears she’d cried since Thanos had replaced the first bit of her body with metal dropped onto her lap.
The lights flickered in the building ahead and somewhere deep inside the ship one of Quill’s songs began to play. Very softly surrounding the two of the with the familiar notes as the stars glowed above them and the quiet sounds of people who still had someone filters through the grass.