Chapter 20
Summer then autumn on Terra comes and goes but AJ and Cass stay on the ship with me, attending Pietro's wedding in July, according to JARVIS, on the same planet that Jay and I got married on, Crazoria.
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Keiko sighs as she drops next to me at my table at the second shift meal. "What's with the sigh?"
"Those two aren't interested. Guess I've gotta try someone else." I look at her as I drink my blend and she eats while the Team Leads look at us.
"I see... Well, we did get some recruits. And you've turned eighteen physically in the past few lunar cycles. You might be interested in some of them and they might return the interest. Good luck," I call after her as she runs out, having quickly finished when I told her about the recruits and she waves. "How are we related? Right, adoption. Gods..." I shake my head and notice Ella and Cassie hanging out, looking at venues for the wedding. "Ah, yes. Planning weddings. Fun times, fun times. Wait... Fuck," I groan and rub my temples, thinking.
"Hey, Cap, uh, question," Cassie carefully says as they come up and I move my hands, looking at them.
"The Stealing?"
"Yeah... How's that gonna work?"
"OK, it's always the one who proposes that steals them back. So, one part of the question was answered. Are you staying on my crew?"
"Dad's trying to get me to go over to their crew."
"Dude, yes or no." She looks at Ella and she thinks.
"This is my homeship so you can't steal me back to my homeship if I don't leave it."
"Well, figure it out and lemme know."
"You aren't gonna help us?" I deal with my tray and look at them.
"You're big girls. And I've got shit to do. I'll give you whatever ideas I come up with while I work. Alright? Alright." I head out of Mess as I swipe at a holoscreen being projected from my wrist com and the crew moves. "This idiot again? Christ," I growl and stab the button to dial up his transmission.
"Hello?"
"Zen, what the fuck have we talked about?"
"Admiral! Hello! I wasn't aware I was expecting a transmission from you!"
"It's a surprise one since you can't seem to get it through that thick ass Xandarian skull of yours to stop ripping off the damned Ravagers and Guardians! Consider yourself lucky that I'm not making a surprise visit! Again! You didn't like that surprise, Zen, did ya?"
"No, Admiral! I promise that there is no need for a surprise visit!"
"Give the Captain what is owed and if I hear about this one more fucking time, I'm coming over there and ripping out your kneecaps, elbows, and any other joint in your body, putting them in a sack, and beating you to a pulp with your joints in a sack! That what you want? To be beaten to a pulp with a sack full of your joints? A joint sack?"
"NO!"
"Then stop your shit!" I end the transmission and continue through the ship, checking in with the Leads. "Pixie, answer the transmission and put it through my earpiece."
"Hey, Admiral."
"Scott."
"I have a favor."
"If Cassie wants to go to the Crew you're on, she will and can. If she wants to stay on mine, she will and can. I'm not going to try to change her mind or convince her."
"Damn! OK. Thanks."
"Yup. Later, Scott."
"Later." The transmission ends and I shake my head.
"Sorry, Horuz. You were saying?"
"We need more parts for the Mechanics. Oblo said he needs more sewing materials and another person and Doc needs more supplies."
"Got it. 'Preciate you talkin' to the others."
"Not a problem, Cap." He heads back to work and I look at the growing list.
"OK... Let's have... Morgan, Indri, and Keiko go get the supplies... Pixie, let 'em know and start a transmission with Segs."
"You got it." I wait for the transmission to connect and send the information of supplies to two holopads, handing them to the three as I pass them.
"Admiral?"
"Hey, Segs. I got a question. You have siblings, right?"
"Yes."
"Are any of them looking for a job? I- Hang on a second," I take the holopad from Nebula and look it over. "Update the systems the way you see fit. I trust your judgment." She nods and walks away. "Anyway... I need another Designer to help Oblo."
"Of course, Admiral. Let me inform my sister and she will contact you or find you."
"Sounds good. 'Preciate it. See you on Terra."
"My pleasure. I shall see you then." We end the transmission and I continue what I need to do before we go to Terra for holiday because some of the Clans prefer Hannukah, Kwanza, and other ones that aren't Terran.
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I finish everything and set a course for Terra as soon as the supplies are on board, leaving Nebula to keep an eye on it as I go to the gym. Tullk, Horuz, and Oblo were in there to work out frustrations with sparring and I go over to the weights, needing to work with them today. I plug in my earpieces and play my music as I take off my duster and long sleeve shirt, leaving me bare from the waist up since I had kept my gender-neutral form.
I pull my hair up and grab the first dumbbell, curling it as the other three continue to do their thing. The music roars in my ears and I look at the mirror in front of me, locking eyes with my reflection.
"Freak!"
"Murderer!"
"Useless!"
"You will never be anything more than a slave!"
"You have a mission, Soldier. Do not fail again. You will not enjoy the consequences."
A hand waves in front of my eyes and I blink once, looking at Horuz as I take out my earpiece. "Want a go at the bag, Cap?"
"I tend to break them and I need to work with the weights. Not that it matters much since my muscle mass is kept steady thanks to Terran assholes." I put the dumbbell back and he looks at it, nodding.
"Alright." He leaves and I notice the other two were gone, taking a slow breath once I'm alone.
"They were wrong," I mutter to myself and work out with the weights for a few more hours before going to sleep next to Loki.
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I wake five hours later to Loki getting ready and watch them, smiling slightly. "Do you like what you see, Admiral?"
"It's a lovely sight, Loki." They chuckle softly and I swing my legs out of bed, pulling on a shirt as I get a message. "Pixie?"
"Nebula is landing us on Terra with Cassie's help."
"Sweet. Tell them I appreciate it and will be out shortly."
"Right away." I pull on my duster and head out with Loki following.
"Captain."
"Nebula. Thank you again for landing us. You too, Cassie. I appreciate it."
"No problem." I nod and clap my hands, gaining everyone's attention as they come into the bridge.
"Alright! We are officially on holiday! No work, no jobs, no talking about either of them and no ranks are required. So take the time to chill and relax! We'll be leaving in... I don't know. PIXEL, reminder for January second."
"Set for two weeks from now." I click my tongue in response and she hums in my ear.
"Anyway... Y'all know where the cabin is so... You're free to go. Don't destroy it again." They slowly filter out and I watch Horuz and Tanas stay close to Gef. "Cassie, Loki, wanna come with me to get supplies?"
"Like?"
"Liquor, booze, and alcohol."
"Oh, of course. How could we forget about the most important supplies?"
"Wait for Tony and he can pay."
"Know what? That's a great idea, Loki." I head to the cabin with the two of them and smile as they interact, noticing the Avengers had landed before us. Tullk was a little ahead of us and I watch him.
"TULLK!" Sarah jumps into his arms and he chuckles as he catches her.
"'Ey, Darlin'." Sam strides toward them and I catch his arm.
"Nope. You're letting them have this. They deserve it."
"That's my sister," He hisses and I look at him.
"I'm aware and your sister is happy again. When was the last time you saw her that happy? When Cass and AJ's dad was still alive? How long has it been now?" He seethes silently and I look at him steadily. "Sarah deserves happiness and if she's getting it with Tullk, be happy for her. Don't be a dick."
"Whatever." He tugs his arm out of my hold and goes inside as Tullk sets Sarah down.
"Everything OK with Sam?"
"Everything's fine, Sare. You two enjoy your time together and try to hang out with him a bit too, alright?"
"No problem. Thanks, Rogue."
"Hey. What can I say? I'm kind of awesome like that. Hey, Tones."
"It's on the way."
"Perfect. I'll be on the roof if you need me." I vault up to grab the gutter and flip onto the roof, clearing the snow off a decent spot before laying down to relax.
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"Y'know, I don't think most people find the roof to be the most relaxing of places, Ro," Dad calls up and I grin, throwing a snowball toward his voice. "Damnit! You're dead!"
"Can't die, Old Man," I sing-song and I hear a sharp whistle. "Well, that's unfortunate." I stand and slide down the shingles of the roof, flipping at the gutter to land next to Gamora. "Hey. So, I didn't realize how close it was to Christmas or even the day in December so... We leave in two weeks to be able to stay on track with the meeting. Questions?" I look at the Captains in my family and they stare at me. "No? Cool. Just chill during the break. That's about it. What took you guys so long?"
"Some Xandarian jackass on Contraxia wouldn't give us our dues."
"Zen?"
"Yeah. Why?" I rub my head and sigh sharply.
"The idiots getting beaten to a pulp by a joint sack made of his joints," I mutter under my breath and dial his frequency as I walk away, gesturing for them to hang on a minute.
"You steal it, I buy it. Zen speaking."
"Zen, we just talked about this in the past solar cycle. Stop. Ripping. My guys. Off," I growl loudly and he gulps.
"Admiral Emyrada! I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." I switch the transmission to video too and his face pops up, paling quickly.
"Don't even fucking try bullshitting me, jackass! I want the funds you owe the Guardians in my account in ten damn minutes or I'm making a stop on Contraxia and making good on my promise of beating you to a pulp with a joint sack! You want to get your joints removed from your body just to get beaten with them in a sack?"
"Of course not, Admiral! The funds will be transferred right away!"
"Then hurry up! And Zen?"
"Yes, Admiral?"
"If I have to contact you again anytime soon outside of selling something to you, I'll do worse than the joint sack!" I end the transmission and rub my head slightly. "Fuckin' idiot."
"I'm sorry, a joint sack?" I look at Gamora and she was confused.
"Yeah, a joint sack. You remove someone's joints, put them in a sack, and now you have a joint sack. It's a surprisingly good threat and weapon."
"You've used one?"
"No, I'm saying it's a good weapon because I've never used one, Sparkles. Of course, I have! Why do you think that jackass is so terrified of the thought of it? He saw me use one on another buyer that screwed around one too many times." I pull my hair back then up and feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "Peter, no," I say calmly as I carefully take off a folded staff.
"How do you even know I'm behind you?"
"My special brand of spidey sense. You know this." I spin and he catches the staff in his hand.
"True. I also knew you were going to try that. Nice try."
"Hm. Fair enough." I twirl it and hook one behind his foot, knocking it from under him to knock him onto his back. "You know I was gonna do that too, Spiderling?" He rolls his eyes and flips to his feet. "Oh, are you mad now, Creepy Crawly Man?"
"Hilarious."
"I've been told that I'm rather amusing." I block the roundhouse kick to my head and grin cockily at him. "Not as amusing as you trying my move, but I digress. And is that the best you've got for an impromptu sparring session? Seriously? I gotta say, Pete... 'M disappointed."
"Oh, shut up," He scoffs and jumps back to avoid my hand trying to grab his duster. "HA! Miss- Damnit," He grunts as the wind gets knocked out of him from me taking his knees out again, and glares at me. "Dude! Repetitive much?"
"If it ain't broke, why should I fix it?" I throw him a lopsided smirk and he glares as he clambers to his feet.
"Because it gets predictable."
"Ain't m'fault ya ain't able ta notice it," I drawl easily and he starts to circle me. "C'mon now. Ya know tha' ain't gon' work."
"Humor me."
"A'ight." I spin my staff around my hand and circle him in response, resting the staff against my arm.
"Oh, shit! This'll be good," Morgan laughs and sits on the porch railing, hollering inside, "Parker and the Admiral are sparring!" The crews come out to watch and Steve, Bucky, and Tony stand to the side in the case that I lose control to Feral.
"Ya gon' do summin' or keep starin' at m'face all cycle? Ah know it looks good, but- Tha's more like it," I laugh as I launch myself out of the way of his lunge and he recovers quickly, glaring at me. I refold my staff and put it back on my belt loop, feet moving easily to keep our circling motion before I raise my hands calmly to mimick Kraglin's hands when we would spar. "C'mon a'eady! Or is ya scared? Guess Queens don't give a guy much bravado, huh?"
"Ooh! This is getting better," Morgan cackles and Indri leans next to him, watching us.
"Take that back!" Peter launches himself at me and I catch him, flipping him onto his back with his momentum.
"Hmm... Nah. Mebbe if ya win Ah will." He sweeps my feet and I quickly roll away, narrowly avoiding a punch to where my head was. I laugh and smirk sharply, inadvertently mimicking Yondu's smirk. "Atta boy." I feel Feral in the back of my mind and take a slow breath, retaining control. "No more talkin', Pete. Just sparrin'. Ya up fer tha'?" He scoffs as we both rise to our feet and looks at me intensely.
"I am not. I know when to back out and I'm doing it now."
"Well, you're no fun," Indri scoffs, and Morgan boos.
"Come on, dude! Don't be a pansy!"
"You fight them, then!"
"They'll destroy me in five seconds! How stupid do I look? Like you?" Morgan scoffs and Peter rolls his eyes. "Besides, you're the one that started the session!"
"And I just ended it. I do not continue with them when it comes to no speaking."
"Scaredy cat!" He rolls his eyes again and I snort softly.
"Christ, y'all act just like born siblings."
"We did too if you remember," Keiko says casually and I nod my head slightly.
"True." I smile slightly and she looks at me. "Remember that time we almost broke a window here with one of our fights about... Science?"
"Ugh, yeah. I was pissed that you were right. Mom grounded me for a week."
"Dude, that's nothing compared to being confined to your Quarters with nothing to do."
"No way."
"Yeah. One time, I tried to talk to Kraglin when he brought my meal and Yondu brought the rest of them with the reminder that no fraternization was to be occurring while I was on lock-down. Boring as Hell."
"Sounds like it."
"Yeah. What'd I even do that time?"
"Ya fucked a job up."
"Hm. I don't remember that but OK." He rolls his crimson eyes and I grin, winking at him casually.
"The fuck was tha'?"
"They do that now. Don't ask. Save yourself the headache," Indri says simply and I look at her, slightly offended. "Where did I lie?"
"Y'know what? Shut up." She shrugs and I shrug out of my duster, revealing my vast array of weapons I can use in close combat.
"You are paranoid as shit," Rhodey says and I tilt my head slightly.
"Eh. With my luck, it's usually a good idea to have this stuff, y'know?" He rolls his eyes as he heads back inside and I look at Bucky. "I'm bored as shit already and you usually don't suck at sparring. Wanna go?"
"The fact that you said I usually don't suck makes me annoyed. So yeah. Let's go, Kid." He comes over as he sheds his duster and I look him over.
"We thinkin' weapons or no?"
"Oh, Hell no."
"Fair. One second." I debate for a quick moment. "Eh, fuck it." I strip my shirt off, draping it over my duster, and he rolls his eyes. "What?"
"Why can you never manage to keep your shirt on when we spar?"
"It's constricting, OK? And... Other reasonable reasons. Duh."
"Uh-huh. Sure."
"Shut up, Buckysaurus." He glares at me and I smirk.
He attacks me and I duck out of the way of his fist, spinning to be around him. "Boop," I smirk as I tap his neck and he grabs my arm, flinging me over his body to knock the wind out of me. "Oof. Not bad. For an old guy. Shit!" I roll out of the way of his left fist trying to punch me and get to my feet quickly, taking a short breath. "Alright. Time to get serious. No more talking."
"You sure about that?"
"Not even remotely but let's do it." He nods and attacks me, allowing me to block and avoid most of them. I kick him away and growl softly, scrunching my face slightly to maintain control.
"Come on, Kid... You got this," He encourages softly and I take a quick breath, regaining control again. "That was close. That's enough for today, alright?" He whispers and I nod, rubbing my face in frustration. "You'll get it. Don't worry."
"'Preciate it, Buck..." He nods and pats my shoulder gently, heading inside. I comb my hands through my hair to put it down and sigh sharply, annoyed. "I feel like I'm going backward with this... Gods..."
"Going backward with what?" Dad asks and I look at him.
"Maintaining control of Feral."
"I see. That sucks."
"Gee. Thanks."
"No problem." I roll my eyes and look at the truck as it pulls up, on edge as I see Ella and Cassie climb out, Cassie helping her.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," Cassie admits softly and I go over.
"I'm sorry," Ella gasps softly and I look her over, sensing all the pain she's in.
"Shh, don't apologize. We just need to talk, OK? Just tell me what happened," I say gently and she leans against me, letting me see that her clothes were messed up.