Chapter 13
I dock in Xandar and stride down the gangplank, wearing sunglasses as I walk quickly toward my storage area. "Hello, Rogue," Chex greets with a smile as I come in and I push my sunglasses onto my head.
"Hey, Chex. The others here yet?"
"Yes. They're waiting for you in storage."
"Thanks, Chex. Did you look into that thing I messaged you about?"
"Yes. We're working on it now and between the three of us, we should have it done in a few hours."
"Sweet." I smile as I head toward the storage area and the Avengers look up from where they were. "Good job with the hangar and you got it done pretty quickly too. Four hours. Not bad."
"How long would it take you to do the hangar?"
"'Bout four hours by myself. But I'd also use rocket boots."
"Cheater," Sam grumbles and I roll my eyes slightly, going past them. "Where's the ship?" He stretches and I press a button to open a door, revealing the ship. "OK."
"Yeah. Have fun with getting it the way you want it." I wave slightly as I leave and head back out, looking around as I wait for them to finish up what I asked for.
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"Here we are!" I look over and put back what I was looking at. "A new form for Mainframe."
"Thanks, guys. Appreciate it."
"Do you need help getting it back to your ship?"
"Nah, I can handle it. In the box?"
"Yes." I nod and lift the box easily, being careful so that her form doesn't get tossed around. "Let us know if anything's wrong and we can walk you through how to fix it."
"Got it. See you guys around." I wave slightly as I leave and take the less known way back to the docks, answering the incoming transmission on the ship. "Hello?"
"Where the Hell have you been?" Stakar asks and I look at him as I set the box down.
"Getting Mainframe's new form from Chex. I wasn't gonna come back so I figured I'd just wait for them to be done. Why?"
"Novas are going crazy about you."
"Novas are always going crazy about me. I'll be back on my ship in ten minutes. Don't do anything stupid." I end the transmission and take off toward the Eclector again.
My family's waiting for me in my portion of the hangar with Tullk and Oblo when I dock. I disembark with the box and set it next to my workbench, looking at Mainframe. "I got your new form. Should work just as well as your other one."
"The box is sealed shut and we don't have a crowbar," She says slowly and I grip the lid for a moment before prying it off.
"There. Now it's open." Charlie brings her head over and she looks in the box.
"Wow, they did a good job!"
"Gonna take your word for it. Where are the kids?"
"LJ, AJ, and Cass are eating."
"Morgan and Indri?"
"Not kids anymore, but they're eating too."
"Got it. Loki?"
"LJ dragged him along to Mess." I nod and pull my hair back, getting a little tired of it. "If you're tired of your hair, maybe try cutting it, Ro."
"Gee, Dad. Never thought of that. It'll be fine for a while longer. You guys gonna be able to transfer her?"
"We can handle it," Stakar says simply and I rub my neck slightly, nodding.
"Cool. Your ships are docked and the crews are on board too. Keep them if you want, send them to the Avengers or other crews if you don't, do a mix of both, I don't care. They should all be fully stocked. I'll be seeing you around. Oh, by the way, we visit Terra twice an annual cycle. Halloween and Christmas. You can come if you want, don't if you don't. Later." I walk away to go to Mess and see LJ and Loki getting to know each other, smiling slightly.
"Hi, Moddy." LJ smiles as I sit and I return it.
"Hey, LJ. Did Doc come to see you?"
"Yeah. They gave me some medicine that they said will help me calm down? It's this stuff."
"Yep. Doc's ADHD blend. It works well." I get a notification on my wrist com and nod when I look at it. "Shuri says she can give you a vibranium arm if you want it still."
"Would you tell her that I would like that?" I respond with that and look at the next message.
"She'll be over around Second Shift to help you out. You can thank her in person." They nod and I pull a holopad out of my duster, handing it to LJ.
"What's this?"
"Lessons. You have to study them, learn them, et cetera, et cetera. They have languages that you need to be able to read, jobs that you can do, the laws of the planets we go to often, that sorta thing."
"Oh! Cool!" He smiles and looks at it as he finishes eating. "Do I get to choose which team I'm on?"
"You're going to cycle through all of the teams until you find the one that you work best with."
"What if I work well with all of them?"
"Then you'll just be around to help whoever needs it."
"Ain't likely that you'll be good with all of 'em, though, kid," Horuz scoffs and he nods.
"True. But there's still the chance." He just shrugs in response and LJ deals with his tray. "What should I start with?"
"Hm... Well, you have the Leathers, I've got to give you a patch, explain the Code... After all the entry-level stuff is done, Morgan and Indri can show you what they do. Then start with... Horuz, Mechanics."
"OK."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Who knows? He might be as good at it as I was."
"I can hope," He scoffs and looks at him. "See you soon, kid." He walks away, tossing his tray on the cart, and LJ looks at me as I finish eating, sipping my caffeine.
"Yeah, hang on." I set my tray on the cart and wrap my arm around his shoulders, guiding him out of Mess toward the Designer's Area.
"Who works in here?"
"It's mainly Oblo, a Krylorian. Don't worry, the lessons will have the different races of people, their cultural beliefs, and any cultural beliefs of the planets we stop on. We have to adhere to those or we could be killed."
"OK." I grab a spool of thread, a needle, and a patch before gesturing for him to hand me his duster.
"OK, so. The Code. It's simple. One, Ravagers don't steal from their own. So no stealing from other Ravagers. Two, no killing on the ship unless you have a good reason, settle things planetside. Three, Ravagers don't deal in sentient beings, especially kids. And four, Ravagers only go to bot brothels because they aren't sentient beings and prostitution is another form of slavery. This isn't part of the Code, but I'm probably going to add it soon... You get consent for everything when you're doing anything with your partner, make sure they want to do the thing. If you don't, you're going to rot in jail because I will never save you from that kind of charge. Any questions?"
"So I don't steal from other Ravagers, I don't kill anyone on the ship unless I have a good reason, have to settle things planetside, don't help slavers, always get consent, and don't go anywhere other than where the other Ravagers go for bots? Right?"
"Right. Good." I finish sewing on his patch and shake his duster out slightly. "Perfect. Here." He slips it back on and I smile a bit. "Alright. Go meet with Horuz."
"OK." He walks away to do that and I put the materials away, mind racing as I head out.
"I'll add it at the next meeting," I murmur to myself and head to Controls where Tullk was. "Hey, Scottie."
"Cap'n."
"You got the jobs from Vorker?"
"Yeah. 'Ere." I take the holopad and look through the jobs on it, thinking.
"We'll do the one on Ivomia in three solar cycles. With the team that he recommended. Have him brief them." He nods and goes to send them the message.
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LJ ends up going with the team to get experience and I allow it since it should be an easy enough job. But they have the clear rule of looking out for him.
I get a transmission from the team that went down as I'm looking at the next job and blindly answer. "Speak."
"Hey, Cap... We, uh... We got a problem..." I look up to see that LJ wasn't there and narrow my eyes. "The kid got caught. And Novas are landing," Retch explains and I clench my hand around the holopad.
"Get back to the ship. I'll get the kid back." I end the transmission and think.
"Cap'n, team's back," Oblo says and I turn to look at them.
"What the Hell did I tell you before you left?"
"Keep an eye on the kid," Retch says slowly and I look at him.
"So you did hear me! How the Hell did he get caught?"
"We got ambushed and he didn't keep up so that he got caught until we were already back at the ship. He got caught on purpose and we had to haul ass," Brahl explains and I clench my jaw slightly.
"Oblo, go with these jackasses to deliver the haul to the buyer."
"Aye, Cap'n. Le's go," He barks and they follow quickly while I seethe.
"Cap'n." I look toward Tullk at his voice and see a ping from LJ's wrist com. "Ya got a tracker on 'im?"
"Yeah, I do... Gonna have to buy Morgan and Indri a present for giving him a wrist com with a tracker," I mutter under my breath and pull up recent Ivomia news. "Great... Destroyers have been known to be on the planet... Damnit!" I look at the ping and send it to my wrist com so I can track him. "I'll be back. Have Doc prep a cot in Med."
"Aye." I stride to the Hangar and message Dad, answering the transmission from him as I board my M-ship, the Winter.
"What's up?"
"Destroyers on Ivomia have LJ. I need backup. Novas are there too."
"We'll be there." I nod and end the transmission, piloting toward Ivomia. I dock and disembark, locking the ship up before I head toward where LJ's tracker said he was.
"Rogue!" I ignore the hiss and turn into an alley, reaching up to grab my ax when the Guardians turn into it. "Seriously?" I shrug and lower my hand. "Where is he?" I jerk my head for them to follow me as I walk further down the alley and hear their footsteps following me, deciding to bring my ax down.
"Pixie Dust, body count," I hiss and the visor pops up, showing me the people in there. "OK... Send to Guardians." A checkmark appears on the visor to show that it's done and Dad inhales sharply.
"That's a lot of Destroyers." I look at Dad and Gamora and they look at me, confused. "What?"
"These guys have life sources so they don't die. I would... Feel better if you two did too."
"Will it make it harder for you to fight?"
"No."
"Do it, then." I focus for a few moments and feel my eyes glow while my hair floats slightly along with theirs. "Whoa..." Two twin orbs of my life source come from my chest, out of my mouth, and do the reverse track to allow them to have theirs.
I squint slightly at the sudden brightness of the sun when it's done and shake my head. "Alright... Let's get my idiot kid back."
"What happened to your other children?"
"As far as I'm aware, they're dead, Drax." I open my hand for my ax and catch it easily, heading inside with them.
"She's here!"
"Asses," I mutter and tighten my grip on my ax while the Destroyers attack. "Let's do this."
"Just blood, just death, or a bit of both?" Dad asks while he dodges a punch from a Destroyer and I smirk.
"Bit of both!"
"Bit of both it is!" He blasts the one swinging for him and I slice one of them through the stomach, propelling myself back when another tries to blast me. Groot impales her and swings her into another group, giving me a thumbs-up.
"Thanks, Groot!"
"Go get LJ! We've got this," Dad calls and I nod, following PIXEL's directions as I run through the building.
"DIE!" I swing the ax easily to decapitate them and continue running, skidding to a stop in front of the door that LJ was behind.
"Hack it, Razzle Dazzle?"
"No time." I back up a bit, putting my ax across my back again, and focus all of my powers as I hear Dad yelling while they come around the corner, taking my hair down.
"Whoa..." My body was glowing brightly while things were floating around me and there was a buzz. "We should probably take cover..."
"That is a good idea, Peter." They all take cover behind a sturdy desk and the buzz gets louder.
There's an explosion and they flinch, making themselves smaller before looking over the desk to see me standing in front of an obliterated door. "Rogue?"
"I'm fine..." My nose is bleeding badly but I ignore it for now as I go to get LJ down from where he was chained up and he drops against my body, unconscious. "I've got you, LJ..." Dad comes in and helps me brace him as we head out.
"Admiral Emyrada," A Nova greets as more point blasters at us and I clench my jaw.
"What?"
"You are under arrest."
"Like Hell I am." I raise my hand and stare at them, watching as they back up slightly.
Nothing happens and I look at my hand, cursing under my breath. "What's the deal?"
"I used too much juice... It won't work," I hiss to Dad and he curses.
"Surrender and the Guardians can go free with the child." I clench my jaw but jerk my head slightly for Drax to come over and put him where I was. "Are you surrendering?"
"Yes."
"Then disarm yourself." I set my ax down and let my katana slip to the ground after untying the saya. "Search them."
"They get to the ship first then you search me."
"It's bold of you to assume you have any power here, but very well. You may leave."
"Ro-"
"Go, Dad." They walk away with my weapons after a moment and the one that was going to search my person comes over.
"Put your hands on your head." I do and they pat me down thoroughly. "They don't have any other weapons besides their arm."
"Rogue Emyrada, you are hereby under arrest for murder, petty theft, theft, grand larceny, and other crimes notorious to Ravagers," The leader says simply and I look at them calmly as the one that searched me yanks my arms behind my back, cuffing them. "You will be pleased to see your old friends and crew in the Kyln Two, Emyrada." They drag me behind them for a moment and I walk calmly at their side, noticing drones hovering above us to catch us.
"You're on the news, Razzle Dazzle," PIXEL says in my ear and I smirk slightly. Until they throw me into the cell and leave the cuffs on.
"No trial necessary. All of the proof and evidence is concrete," Nova Prime says with a smirk and I look at her.
"Alden Geat. Good to see you again."
"Good to see you where you belong," She smirks and walks away while I chill.
"Send your coordinates to Krugarr?" PIXEL asks in my ear and I smirk slightly.
"Yeah. I won't be here for too long." I stand and she looks at me as I hear a portal behind me. "Buh-bye." I fall backward through it and flip to land in a crouch, hands still cuffed. I flip my hair out of my face and smile at Krugarr while Charlie, Mainframe, Yondu, Kraglin, Martinex, and the Ogords stand off to the side. "Hey, guys." I stand and he gestures at my hands. "Oh, yeah. Easy fix." I dislocate my left shoulder to get my hands to my front and put it back in place, rolling it slightly. "Hm..." I test the strength of the cuffs slightly and bring my hands close to each other.
I yank them apart sharply and the cuffs stay intact. "Damn. Guess they upgraded since the last time I did that." I focus and send electrical shocks through my right arm.
The cuffs drop to the floor and I nod, rubbing my left wrist slightly. "Assholes. Anyway..." I glance around and notice we're in my Quarters. "Where's m-"
I'm cut off when a body slams into mine, knocking me down, and I grunt. "Stop. Being. Such. An idiot," Morgan yells as he hits me and I flip him over my head, flipping to my feet while he's winded. He gets up and looks at me. "Are you OK?"
"Mor, I'm fine. Where is LJ?"
"Upstairs. Quill thought it'd be a good idea to have him there instead of Med. Last I knew, he was still out."
"Moddy...?" I look toward the stairs and go over to LJ, cupping his face.
"Hey, you OK?"
"I'm a little sore, but fine other than that." I look him over slightly and pull him into a tight hug, which he returns after a moment of shock. I hold him away and he looks at me.
"Do you have any fucking clue how stupid what you did was?"
"Are you mad at me or happy that I'm OK? Because... I'm confused..."
"I'd say both, kid," Rocket says simply and I let him go, walking a few steps away before I look at him, pointing my finger at him.
"You don't make sacrifice plays! You are just a kid!"
"You said yourself that I'm able to choose for myself what to do, Moddy!"
"You're a legal adult, yes. But you are a sheltered child! You have no clue how anything out here works!"
"That's why I wanted to go! So I could learn!"
"And you let yourself get kidnapped by the Ravager's biggest rivals!"
"How was I supposed to know that?"
"You didn't! That's my point! LJ, do you have any clue what the Destroyers are like?"
"No! How would I?"
"No! You don't! I said that you could go on this job so long as you followed the plan and the others lead! Is that what you did?"
"Well, kinda..."
"Kinda isn't good enough! Not when your life is on the fucking line!"
"I can't die!"
"And I didn't think your siblings could die either, LJ! But do you see them anywhere? No! Because they thought they could manage without me! And I did too! Do you see where that got them? It got them DEAD, LJ! And I'll be damned if you die when I could stop it!"
"Moddy, I won't die! I can't!" I rub my face and brush my hair back. "You can't die! Meaning I can't either! You said so yourself!"
Things start to float around him but he doesn't seem to notice and looks at me. "How was I supposed to know that we were going to get ambushed like that? No one could have known that would happen!" His eyes start to glow while his hair floats and a soft buzz fills the air. "You can't keep me hidden away! I'm not a child anymore! I came with you because I knew you would help me learn more about the galaxy and the people in it! But you are just as afraid as Grandfather!" The buzz gets louder and his body starts to glow. "I will not allow myself to be hidden away like a freak anymore!"
"LJ, calm down..." I try calmly and the buzz gets more vehement.
"NO! I am tired of it!"
"LJ, I need you to calm down." I go over to him and he narrows his eyes at me while the buzz resonates between us.
"I will not be hidden away any longer!" I grab his shoulders and shake him.
"Stop!" His skin glows more and I look at him, worried. "LJ!" His eyes roll back in his head and I don't know what to do. I cup his face and rest my head against his, trying something.
"The sky is dark and the hills are white. As the storm king speeds from the north tonight," I sing softly in Norse and the buzz quiets slightly so I continue. "And this is the song the storm king sings. As over the world his cloak he flings. 'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep.' He ruffles his wings and gruffly sings. 'Sleep, little one, sleep.' On yonder mountain side a vine. Clings at the foot of a mother pine." The buzz softens more and his glow dims.
"The tree bends over the trembling thing. And only the vine can hear her sing. 'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep. What shall you fear when I am here? Sleep, little one, sleep.' The king may sing in his bitter flight. The tree may croon to the vine tonight. But the little snowflake at my chest. Like the song, I sing the best. Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep. Weary you are next to my heart. Sleep, little one, sleep," I finish softly and he leans against me, weak, as the buzz is silent and the glow is gone.
"Wha-What happened?"
"Shh... It's OK..."
"But-"
"Shh... Sleep..." He slumps against me and I catch him before he can hit the floor, moving him onto the couch.
"What the fuck was that?" Charlie booms and I look at him, eyes glowing.
"Watch your tone with me and quiet down," I say evenly and he backs down after a moment. "Things have changed and I'm sure you've realized that."
"You've changed too," Martinex says simply and I look at him.
"I've had to. The person I was? A ticking time bomb. I'm better now, more balanced, have fewer attacks than I used to, don't attack people often, and have almost full control of Feral. Before I couldn't imagine letting LJ stay with me, not after what happened with the other kids. These past five annual cycles have been the therapy that I needed but couldn't get on Terra. I couldn't imagine coming back here without all of you being here but... I found other people who helped me, I had Bonsai at my side all the damned time. I made a new normal and now... Now, I'm the Admiral of the One Hundred Ravager Clans. I also tend to be an Honorary Guardian of the Galaxy, still tend to call myself the Warrior of the damned thing," I scoff and brush my hair out of my face, glancing at LJ.
"What was that, Rogue?" Gamora asks and I look at her, sighing softly.
"The downside to being a Celestial with an absorbed life source. Too much emotion, namely anger or fear, can cause that to happen. It's... Yeah."