Chapter 9
"Gabriel, this better not be a joke."
"Cassie wouldn't let me do that. No, this isn't a joke. Just... Down a limb." I look at Loki's right arm and see it was in a sling. "I couldn't heal that. Healing damage caused by the infinity stones, other than death, is past my skill set."
"Oh, that reminds me."
I hit Loki numerous times in the head and upper torso while yelling at him in different languages. He catches my hand and holds it, looking at me calmly. "Words can not describe how sorry I am to have caused you this much strife."
"You ever do something like that again, I'll bring you back so I can kill you myself!"
"Understood."
"Good." I look at him and he smiles gently. "You big, giant, stupid, idiot." I hug him and he hugs me back, letting me rest my forehead against his shoulder. "Don't do that to me ever again," I whisper and he hugs me slightly tighter.
"I won't, my Treasure... I promise," He whispers back and squeezes the back of my neck lightly. "Now, I am rather curious about something," He says as I pull away and I quirk an eyebrow slightly. "Since when do you have this appearance?"
"Mom altered my appearance. Which was more than likely a good thing."
"How so?"
"You think my white adopted grandparents would have treated me any better if they knew I was a mainly black biracial kid?"
"Fair point.
"Now, something that kinda confused me while your brother was no help... Are you genderfluid?"
"Yes."
"OK, cool. Same. So, uh- PIXEL, what was that beep about?"
"Pietro has sent you divorce paperwork."
"Course he has. Just- Wow. Pull it up, holoscreen mode."
"Right away."
"'Scuse me a second, Loki." He smiles amusedly and I look at the paperwork above my wrist com. "PIXEL."
"Highlighting. And... Done. Green is for your full signature, yellow is for your initials. He has already done his part."
"Alright, show me all of the yellow first." I take the stylus out of my wrist com and initial where it's highlighted yellow. "PIXEL, make a signature for me and just copy it on the others, slight differences."
"You got it." The paperwork speeds across the screen and I watch it slightly. "Done. Do you wish to look them over or add anything you want from him? Or shared custody of Peter? Because, as of now unless you contest it, he has full custody."
"He won't agree to it. And, sure, let's add something. Listening?"
"Always."
"Creepy as Hell. Put this... 'I wish for you to bend over and fuck yourself sideways with no lube. Enjoy, asshole.' End quote."
"Alright. I'm not adding that."
"Whatever."
"Are you sure you don't want to fight for shared, or full, custody?"
"I'm not going to fight over a toddler with said toddler's father. I'm sure. He can keep full custody. Is there anything else I need to fill out or not?"
"That's all... Send it back?"
"Yes. And PIXEL, if you added anything-"
"I didn't."
"Good."
"Who is PIXEL?"
"An AI Tony made me after I joined the Avengers. Then I became the Tundra Soldier. It's been chaotic, Loki. Just... Jesus. Oh, by the way, I'm a super-soldier. It's fun. I have to use magic to get drunk and it's amazing."
"Your sarcasm has gotten better."
"Mhmm. Getting chased by HYDRA does that. It was fun. I loved it. Gave me a kill count of over six thousand. Lotta fun."
"Seems like it. How long was I dead?"
"Hm... Sixteen to seventeen annual cycles... Holy fuckin' shit. I- Pixie Dust, explanation?" I ask with a groan about the urgent beeps above me and lean back in my chair. "Pixie Dust?"
"Nova Prime is docking in the hangar," She explains slowly after my second prompt and I stand up suddenly, knocking Loki over.
"I'm sorry, who is doing what now? I sincerely hope that I just misheard you."
"Nova Prime. Docking in the hangar. As we speak."
"Shit, shit, shit, shit! Who put in the last coordinates for the ship? Because we shouldn't be in the Novas territory!"
"We have been going toward their territory since Pietro left. He was the last one to do it."
"SHIT! Is she in the hangar yet?"
"Yes."
"Hack her ship and keep her on it until I can get there."
"Fun! Right away!" I sharply twirl my left hand and my duster soars into it before I shrug it on. I whistle Yondu's arrow to him and open my left hand.
My katana soars into it and I slide it into its sheath, tilting my head slightly. "That isn't what I wanted... Um... Shit," I mutter and think for a moment, muttering a soft spell as I open my hand again. "That's better," I scoff as I catch the battle-ax from Odin and easily attach it to my back.
"When did this happen?"
"Well, the last time I was on Asgard, I stole this from Odin and he enchanted so I could be the only one to wield it. It's helpful. As for my katana, magnets that I activate with my Celestial magic. The usual. I gotta go make I don't get arrested by the Novas. So... Yeah. I'll be back." I head out of my Quarters and Tullk joins my side immediately. "Jesus Christ! Where do you come from?" He just smirks and I shake my head slightly, striding to the hangar as I quickly tap away on my wrist com.
"Time to let her off already?"
"Do it." Her gangplank opens and she strides off with ten Nova Corpsmen flanking her.
"Admiral Emyrada," She greets icily and I grin cockily.
"Nova Prime. Care to explain who the Hell you think you are to just barge onto my ship like that?"
"You are the thief that stole all of the old Ravager ships! You are notorious again!"
"And here I thought we were friends."
"No!"
"Do you have any proof that I did these things that you're accusing me of?"
"We have probable suspicion!"
"Well, sadly, that's not enough to barge onto my ship. And... PIXEL, location?"
"Just outside of the Prithivi System."
"Ooh, so close to being able to take me in! That's gotta suck!"
"What are you talking about?"
"This ship is out of your jurisdiction. So... Get the fuck out of my hangar. Before I make you." She glares at me and the Corpsmen snarl as she gets back on her ship, snapping.
"We'll be back for you! With what Terrans would call an arrest warrant!"
"Then be sure to bring all of your fuckin' Novas! You're gonna need 'em!" Her ship leaves the hangar and I rub my head. "I told you to get us out of Nova's jurisdiction and you get us to the edge of the Sovereigns? Seriously?"
"My apologies."
"Tullk."
"On it, Cap'n." I go back to my Quarters and roll my head on my shoulders while Tullk sets a course for anywhere else.
"Fuck..." I wave my hand slightly and shift into a more gender-neutral form, resting my weapons against the wall by the door before I peel off my duster and T-shirt, too hot.
"What the fuck is with all those scars?" Dad asks, pointing at my chest, and I look at them, wracking my brain for a moment.
"I might've gotten shot at one point... Um... And stabbed numerous times... I mean, there's this too." I move my hair from in front of my right eye to show the burns and he rushes over with Loki. "Woah! Slow ya rolls!"
"What happened?"
"Tundra Soldier being made. Electrical shocks through metal." I wave my hand over my left cheek and uncover the burns there. "They're a lot more visible with my correct skin color on display. Not the worst thing that's happened to me." I drop my hair back over my eye and Yondu looks at me. "I can barely see out of my right eye anymore. Programming Tundra and deprogramming Tundra led to damage in my optic nerves and I can't heal it. That's why PIXEL's always in my ear, telling me anything I can't see because of the damage."
"How long did the... Programming last?"
"No clue. According to the person who helped with both the programming and deprogramming, it was high levels of electricity for two hours straight. Fun times, fun times." Loki looks at me before moving my hair out of the way of my eye and looking at it. "Yes?"
"It does seem to be mostly blind... Does Father know?"
"You crazy? No, eyepatch doesn't know."
"Thought that was my nickname?"
"Jesus Christ," I yell in shock at Fury's voice and look at him. "How? Are you a cat or something? Fuck, dude..."
"I'm Nick Fury. That's how."
"At least I didn't lose my eye to a Flerkin."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm Rogue Emyrada. That's how. And Danvers told me. You stuck me with the Avengers and you didn't think I'd find out how you lost your eye? Seriously? Or was it Nat? Somebody told me and it's hilarious. This is why I don't fuck with cats. And because I'm seriously allergic, but that doesn't matter."
"That's not why I'm here. Do you think running away to space is going to protect you from prison for the Tundra Soldier's actions?"
"Do you think I'm scared of Terran jails? Cuz gotta say, uh... Had worse, done worse, been worse. So... Thanks for stoppin' by. See ya 'round."
"Where you'll be going is not any Terran jail. There's a special place for you because you couldn't go to fucking therapy!"
"Dude, fuck that lady. I wasn't ever in the mood for her notebook bullshit. No clue how Fridge managed to last 'till the end of his therapy with her."
"You still have to go to jail. The options were crystal clear."
"Mmm. See... Here's the problem... I'm not going to jail. Buh-bye, Fury."
"Yes, you are. Because I'm taking you in myself.
"Oh, you are?"
"Yes."
"You and what army?"
"I have a high-tech taser."
"And I have a mindset that will tear your head with my left hand alone if you use it on me. So, please. Try it." My eyes glow dimly and he looks at me calmly.
"Well, can't argue with that. I'm going home. Goodbye." He leaves and I shrug after a moment.
"OK. Works for me, du- SHIT!" Charlie grabs my arm as a portal suddenly opens behind me and pulls me away from it.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, but they ain't gonna be. Cuz now? Now I'm pissed," I growl and look at the portal to see Fury wave at me with a cocky smirk on his face. My eyes glow brightly while my hair floats around my head and I start murmuring a spell in Icelandic, slowly raising my voice until it's a yell.
The cell explodes and I hold my hands out slightly toward the portal, manipulating the flames easily to keep them out of my Quarters but still be able to destroy the cell. "Why the Hell did you learn that shit?" Fury yells over the raging flames and I control them with my left hand, having a bit of difficulty, while my right works on closing the portal while I chant another spell, in Norse this time.
The portal closes with a whoosh of air and I stumble slightly as I power down, Loki stabling me easily. "Well... That... That was new," They say slowly and I laugh softly, nodding slightly.
"I guess so, yeah..." I press my hand to my head when it starts to pound from using my powers like that and close my eyes for a few moments. "I'm... I'm gonna sit down..."
"Good idea." Loki helps me sit in my chair again and I rub my temples, trying to alleviate the pounding just a little bit.
"Here, take these. They'll help," Dad says and I lift my head to look at what he has, squinting slightly when it's super blurry. "Your hair's in the way of your good eye."
"That makes sense." I brush it out of my way and take the meds he's offering, swallowing them dry before chasing them with some water. "Thanks." Groot offers me one of my scrunchies and I take it, looking at him questioningly as I put my hair back. "How did you find this?"
"I am Groot."
"Of course you did. Uh... There's a cookie on the table that shouldn't have mold and shit on it. Hopefully. If you don't want that, uh... Maybe some fruit in that mini-fridge behind the bar?" I shrug and he goes to look, pulling out an apple. "Yeah, sure. Have at it. Wait, no. You can't have apples, Groot. Um... Should be some oranges, nectarines- Oh, there's mango in there. Eat that." He pulls it out and shows it to me. "Oh. OK, don't eat that. I should probably clean that out... Wait, can't you eat phorrot?" He nods and I look at him. "Then eat that!" He takes it out and sits on the bar to eat it. "Dude! The bar! Get off it!" He rolls his eyes but jumps off of it and I rub my head slightly. "My life's becoming an MCR song... Jesus Christ..."
"In other subjects, have you told any Novas to blast your head off lately?" Dad asks and I laugh shortly at the memory while he looks unamused.
"That was great. Some of my best work yet. Nah, haven't for a while. Only did it once. But-"
"Sorry to interrupt whatever super-genius thing you were about to say, Razzle Dazzle, but your face is on the news."
"Understandable. Who wouldn't want to look at this face all day? Oh, right, me. Put it on."
"Love your humor, amazing." PIXEL puts the news on and I cross my arms, leaning back in the chair as the Novas talk shit about me.
"Wow. They're reachin' lately. I mean, I know I'm... Something, but damn." There's a knock on my door and PIXEL opens it at my prompt.
"Cap, ya know yer face is on da news, yeah?" Oblo asks and I nod. "Ya mind if Ah watch ta see wha' they's sayin' now?" I beckon him in and Doc follows him in, joining us in watching the news.
"This Ravager is a menace to our freedom!"
"Hold the fuck up. Did they just say that I'm a menace to their God damned freedom? How in the fuck do they come up with this shit?" I scoff and Loki sits on the arm of my chair, lightly tugging my hair in a warning to start watching my mouth which just makes me smirk slightly.
"It has-"
"Get that BITCH of the monitor, PIXEL," I bark and the holoscreen disappears while I scheme, pissed off.
"Um, what just happened?"
"Rogue is not fond of being called an 'it'," Loki explains and they look at me.
"Adopted grandparents, kids in that school, a lot of stuff in that town. So, revenge is going to be sweet."
"Care for ideas on revenge?"
"Like what, PIXEL?"
"Steal all of their valuable artifacts and sell them to the highest bidders."
"Last time I did that, I got stabbed by the buyer with the knife I stole for them."
"Well, time to try again."
"OK, thoughts?" A holoscreen pops up to show off precious gems and I nod slightly, swiping through their current inventory.
"Or I could just blow up some of their ships."
"How would you manage that?" Dad asks, a little hesitant, and I look at him.
"I made adjustments. PIXEL can hack into anything and make it malfunction to explode, so long as there aren't people on the ships. Tony made me put that in," I explain and think for a moment. "But I can probably remove it. PIXEL?"
"Code is pulled up." I look through it and find that clause, trying to adjust it.
"And just what the Hell do you think you're doing trying to remove the no murder clause, Razzle Dazzle?" Tony asks as his face pops up on the screen and I lean back, looking at him.
"Dude. My AI."
"And I'm still the creator of said AI. I have the final say. And my final say is that. PIXEL will not destroy any ships if there are living beings on them."
"You're annoying, you know that?" He just smirks as his face disappears and PIXEL's code goes away. "Fuckin' billionaires..." A new transmission pops up as we land and I glance out my window, answering. "Hello, partially blind, scarred, idiot speaking. How can I help you?"
"Hey, Superstar! Tullk around?"
"Oh, hey Sarah. Uh, he just landed us on Contraxia so I'd have to say yes, he's around. Why?"
"Uh, just... Y'know, no reason..."
"Uh-huh. You have his frequency. Remember?"
"I, um... Can't find it..."
"Mhmm. I see. Hang on a second." I tap two buttons on my wrist com and Tullk opens my door. "Your girlfriend wants to talk to you, you sorry Scottish asshole." He rolls his eyes as he comes over and shoves my head out of the frame, grinning charmingly at Sarah.
"'Ey, Wee Lass."
"Ya wanna get your hand off of my good eye?" He shifts his hand to my right eye and I roll them. "Gee, thanks."
"Yer welcome, asshat."
"Get off of me!" I shove him off and he smirks. "Should we give you two some privacy?"
"Tha'd be great, Cap'n. Ah'll make sure ta clean yer sheets."
"NO! I already had to burn one bunk mattress!" He laughs and Sarah was smiling shyly. "Did you only call to talk to Tullk or do I get to see my favorite nephews?"
"Hey, PiPi!"Pronounced Pie Pie
"AJ!" I grin when he pops into the frame with Cass and they smile back. "Staying in trouble?" They nod and I rub my hands slightly. "Well? Did you take my advice last time we talked? 'Bout those bullies?"
"Oh! Yeah! It was fun! We got suspended for a month then we got an in-school suspension for the month before summer break..."
"What? Just for that little thing? Seriously?" They nod and I scoff. "Terrans... Bunch 'a pansy asses. No offense to you, Darlin'," I smirk at Sarah as I wink and she rolls her eyes.
"OK, calm down there, Superstar. You're the one that told my sons to break another student's kneecaps and elbows?"
"Well, yeah. How else are you supposed to effectively get people to stop screwing with you? Besides! That little jackass was at least two grades older than them! They're gonna have cred when they get back!"
"Yeah, come on, Mom!"
"Hey, it's summer break there right now, right?"
"Yes, Superstar."
"So when am I getting the boys? You know I swing by to pick them up for about a lunar cycle during summer break! I can't believe you didn't let me know it had started already!"
"I was a little busy. Can you have Strange do the portal thing he does?" I tap on my wrist com for a moment and portals open next to her and me. "Alright. Behave!"
"We will!" They dart through the portal and I grin, looking at them. "Hey, PiPi!" They hug me and I squeeze them in return, holding them away slightly.
"What are you feeding them down there, Sare? They've grown, like, two feet!" They laugh and I give both of them slight noogies. "You do realize that since you're here and we're on Contraxia, I'm gonna kick your asses in Clibie Warrior, right?"
"LANGUAGE!" I look at her and mute the transmission, looking back at the boys.
"You do realize that since you're here and we're on Contraxia, I'm gonna kick your asses in Clibie Warrior, right?"
"As if! We've been practicing with the Terran version!"
"That one's weak as shit! And you know it!"
"Bet we can beat your high score!"
"You dare to challenge me? The Almighty Quill Emyrada? How dare you!" They laugh and I smile, looking at them for a moment. "Go find Morgan for me and I'll meet you at the ladder to take you planetside, alright?"
"OK!" They run off and I look at the others to see them staring at me.
"What?"
"What the fuck was that?" Rocket asks and I look at him, Tullk unmuting the transmission.
"Dude, I get those boys for a lunar cycle to help their Mama out. Plus, it's fun having them around. I'd spend more time with them than Pietro cuz he'd be an ass. Christ, the idiot."
"Oh, yeah. Sam was telling me about that. Sorry, Superstar."
"Dude, I'mma be honest. I ain't. I got my God of Mischief back. I am happy with how this turned out." Loki smiles at me and Morgan skids to a stop in front of my door. "Hey, Squirt. Boys tell you the plan?"
"We're gonna go play Clibie Warrior?" She asks excitedly and I nod. "SWEET!" She bolts and I bite back a smile to yell after her.
"Hey! I said to wait by the ladder, not go down it! Sarah, that portal's still open if you'd like a night in heaven instead of just seven minutes with this Scottish asshole." She sputters a bit while Tullk rolls his eyes and I pull on a shirt quickly before following it with my duster. "You guys comin'? I'm buyin' for us if you want drinks, food, tokens for games."
"Hell yeah," Dad cheers and catches up to me while the others follow after a moment. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and Loki strides next to me, smiling gently.
"We're gonna have to see if Shuri can give you one of these nice things. Can't have you going around in a sling. Oh, or Neb. We'd just have to, y'know... Amputate your arm to replace it." They hum softly in contemplation and I just look at their face, admiring it with a small smile.
"Come on, dude! You're walking like you're fifty!"
"I mean, I am turning fifty this Christmas, Morgan."
"Oh, yeah... I forgot about that. Damn. You're old."
"I can still kick your ass. So watch it." She just grins and slides down the ladder with the boys behind her. "Hang on a second, Loki." I slide down the ladder and look up at them. "Just jump down!"
"I will break my leg!"
"Trust me!" There's silence for a moment before Loki jumps past the ladder and I catch them easily, smiling gently as I put them down. "See? It always pays to trust me. Now, you two are on my team."
"What? That isn't fair! We only have two!"
"You get my Dad."
"Is he good?" AJ asks and I shrug. "Hmm... Fine. Let's go!" They pull Dad toward the bar and I follow with Loki and Morgan, wrapping my arm around Morgan's shoulders gently.
"This'll be fun." Loki laughs and I smile.