Chapter 22
I stand as I wait for them and barely refrain from pacing. "What in the Bloody Hell do you want now?" Crowley growls as he appears with Gabriel and Gabriel lets him go. "What are you-?"
I pin him against a wall by his throat and he croaks slightly. "Admiral Emyrada! A pleasure to see you healthy!"
"Meaning?" I growl, eyes glowing, and he holds his hands up placatingly.
"I heard murmurs of a group of demons planning something for you and your group."
"And you don't come to tell me? C'mon now, Fergus, we've got a deal."
"See? I attempted but the wards were too strong on the cabin."
"Oh? Interesting, interesting..."
"What?" He looks at me, eyes narrowed slightly, and I slam him into the wall again, making him grunt.
"If the wards were too strong to let you in... How did the other demons get in? Hm?"
"They must have weakened since I tried..."
"The only things I see weakening here are your excuses and lies. I'm going to ask this once and if you don't tell me the truth, I will rip out every ounce of magic in your soul and gut you."
"Understood..."
"Good. Now... How did they know where the cabin was?"
"They found a map I own."
"I have a secret cabin in the mountains and you have magic to get yourself here... But you need a map?" I bellow and he shrugs slightly.
"I do enjoy driving now and again, Rogue," He smirks and I growl. "If there isn't anything else, I'll take my leave." He disappears and I glare at where he was.
"Kid?" Dean asks and I look at him.
"Strengthen the wards against demons." Sammy goes to do that and I notice Ella come downstairs. "Hey. You OK?"
"Yeah... Still sore... Tired..." She drops her head on my shoulder and I hug her after a moment, gently rubbing her back.
"I bet... You should go rest some more."
"I can't sleep..."
"I didn't say sleep, just rest. You don't have to sleep, just try to do as little as possible for a bit."
Pietro and Petra, his wife, come in without Petey and I look at them. "Where's the kid?" Dad asks and Pietro glances at me before he walks over to Wanda, ignoring Dad.
"Pietro, where is your son?" Vision asks and he looks at him.
"On the ship. He was playing and it seemed cruel to interrupt his game," Petra explains simply and I feel something twist in my stomach. "The walk here was nice but long."
My wrist com rings with an incoming transmission and the thing twisting in my stomach grows as I answer it slowly, pressing the earpiece in. "Admiral Emyrada..." Dad, Gamora, Drax, and Loki look at me and they all share the same look. Fear.
"Admiral? Heh. As you wish. Say hello." I look at the video to see Petey waving carefully and being held tightly by a Skrull and a Kree.
"Hi, Moddy..."
"Now, Admiral, allow me to explain how this will happen. I am going to tell you where we are located and you will come on your own. No one else will know. And we will know if you tell anyone where you are going. Once we tell you where we are, you will have ten minutes to reach our location. If you do not arrive in time, we will take this little one in your place. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes..."
"Lovely. We are located at the top of the mountain past the water behind your cabin. Ten minutes. Better hurry." They end the transmission and I feel my feet moving before I comprehend everything.
"Move," I snarl as the happy couple gets in my way and Petra looks shocked.
"You could be more polite." Pietro glares at me and I just shove them both out of my way, the others moving without question. I take a short breath as I step off of the porch and start running, channeling the wind to help carry me faster.
"Pixie, use the camera in my eye to show the others what I see once I get to the ship," I murmur and don't hear a response, running faster up the mountain as ten minutes starts to come to a close.
"Almost did not make it, Admiral," A Skrull smirks and I look at them, following them on board as I sense that the camera starts.
"MODDY!" Petey runs to me and I crouch to catch him in a tight hug.
"Petey, when I let you go, I need you to run and hide somewhere. Run as fast as you can and hide. OK?" I whisper to him and he hugs me tighter. "You can do this, my brave boy. Don't come out until I call my nickname for you, OK?"
"OK, Moddy..." I pull away and gently kiss his forehead.
"I love you, little man."
"I love you, Moddy..." I stand and notice they had formed a half-circle around us, not blocking the entrance. I let him go and gently push him toward the exit. He runs and I throw a fireball at the Kree that tries to catch him. "Moddy!"
"RUN, Petey!" I look toward him and see him running as fast as his legs will carry him. "RUN AND HIDE!" I turn back and continue to throw fireballs at any of them that try to attack me, yelling wordlessly.
Once the ones I'm aware of are no longer a threat, I notice the ship was preparing to take off and go over, grabbing the controls to keep us hovering. "SHIT!" I hit the intercom system. "My little Peter Pan! Run toward the door you came in on!" I hear his pounding feet off to the side and think quickly, taking my hair tie out to hold the controls down.
I run toward the door and see him running too, scooping him up. "MODDY!" He cries and I gently knick his finger, holding him tighter as he bleeds red.
"I have you, don't worry!" I skid to a stop when we reach the gangplank and see we were twenty feet off the ground, slowly but steadily getting higher. I turn and hear Kree and Skrulls running toward us. "Don't look out!" I back up and hold him tighter, running for the gangplank.
It slams closed and I barely stop before running into it, running to hide somewhere else for now as we go through jumps. "Moddy," He cries and I gently shush him, letting water droplets dance around my fingers to calm him down.
-----
Dad slams Pietro against a wall and he grunts. "Do you see what you did? You left my grandson on a ship by himself! Now he and my kid are being taken Gods know where! Probably Hala! By the worst groups in the Galaxy! If they get hurt because of your stupidity, Rogue won't get a chance to gut you!"
"Peter," Gamora says calmly and he drops him while she goes forward, looking at Petra. "Petra... Your husband hurt my adopted child. He was married to them while dating and proposing to you. Yet, they still helped you plan your wedding. On the same planet where they married their childhood love. And you hurt them more by purposely leaving their son on a ship by himself. He is hardly old enough for that!"
"Pietro JR is not the Admiral's son!"
"If Pietro told you that, then he has lied to you. Rogue is very much that boy's parent that gave birth to him. They care about that boy with every fiber of their being, just as they do with all of their other children and family. And you," She turns on Pietro and he looks at her. "You are refusing them their right to see their son. After this, I am quite certain that he will be staying with Rogue. And if not Rogue? Then Peter, the Guardians, and I. And that is not up for discussion. If you so much as attempt to interfere with what is in the best interest of the boy, then you have not earned the right to call yourself his father."
"Yeah! Now get out of my kid's cabin," Dad yells at them and they slowly leave. Wanda looks after the two of them and shakes her head.
"Idiot."
-----
I feel the ship land and hold Petey closer, remaining calm with immense difficulty. "Petey, we're going to be taken somewhere... And I need you to listen to everything I say... OK?"
"OK, Moddy... I'm scared..."
"I am too," I admit softly and see our shadow get cast on the floor.
"Come out, now." I slowly stand and follow them into the Kree city on Hala, panic clawing at my throat. They force me to my knees and I hold Petey tighter. "We have managed to bring the runaway, Supreme. Along with their youngest child." Black tendrils encircle the two of us and I hold him tighter to me as some press against our temples.
"Well, well, well. Rogue Emyrada." I look up and see them shifting repeatedly. "You can't seem to make up your mind on who you admire most. Rather annoying. Ah, there we are." It settles on Gamora's body and I swallow tightly. "You have given us much difficulty."
"Moddy, why does it look like Gam?"
"Because I admire Gamora..."
"And I refuse to take this one's form for you, little one. Now... The two of you will be taken to the edge of the city then past it, where you will reside. If you try to escape, you will be killed. Goodbye."
I gasp as the... Whatever that was ends and Petey clings tightly to me. I'm forced to my feet and dragged along, being escorted by ten guards. Once we reach where the slaves are kept, I hear ten short whistles and fall to the ground, covering Petey's body with mine. "Get up, you worthless slave!"
Blasterfire goes off around us as I get kicked in the side by one of the guards and I cover my head, hearing explosions go off too. "Moddy!" Petey tries to move and I cover him better.
"ROGUE!" I look up and see Dad hanging out of the gangplank of the Milano, a good distance away as Pete, my son, helps rescue other slaves onto the Winter. "COME ON!"
"GET THEM!" I turn my head and see guards running toward us.
"Petey! RUN!" He scrambles from under me and bolts toward the Milano. I throw a fireball at the ground in front of them and kick up so much dust. "HA!" I scramble to my feet and run.
"STOP!" They throw a piece of a building at me and I dodge to the side before using it as a ramp to get farther, landing with a roll by Petey. He trips and starts to cry.
"Moddy!" I scoop him up and Gamora has to fly farther to avoid getting shot down before Rocket can shoot them down. Petey screams and I hold him tightly. "I'm scared!"
"It's OK! I got you!"
Debris blocks my path and I pant, looking around to try to find a way out of this trap. "Nowhere to run anymore, Feral!"
"Petey, trust me, OK?"
"OK..." I jump, powering up my legs to jump higher and throw him to Dad. He catches him and looks at me as I fall back to the ground. "MODDY!"
"Alright, Feral... You've been itching for this... It's your turn now..." I let control slip away and my eyes snap open to slits with a fire in them. "Fight," I snarl and control slips fully. But it's... Different this time...
-----
I scale my way out of the trap and roar toward the sky, back arched with my arms out. "It's Feral," A guard yells and some of them retreat. I run for them and feel Rogue in the back of my mind.
"Listen and we can win this..." I growl and follow her instructions when I deem them necessary, using my instincts for anything else. Control slips away and I don't fight.
-----
I blink to find myself running toward a guard fighting against Pete and roar as I tackle the guard. "Moddy?"
"Who's on my ship?"
"Horuz and Captain Udonta..."
"STOP!" A wave of guards charge toward us and they were well-armed.
"We better run!" I nod and grab his arm, running with him toward the ship.
"Run fast for your mother," I yell at him and he keeps up. "Run fast for your father!"
"Run for your children," Dad yells to us and we run faster.
"For our sisters and brothers!"
"Leave all your love and your longing behind," Rocket yells over the speakers and Gamora finishes the relevant part of the chorus.
"You can't carry it with you if you want to survive!" Dad reaches down and I boost Pete up.
"ROGUE!" I back up a bit, toward the wave of guards, and run up a piece of debris to use it as a ramp. I jump off of it and land with a roll in the Milano. "GO!" Gamora flies us out of there and I pant, carefully moving over to Pete and Petey to look them over.
"Are you two OK?" Pete nods and Petey was crying before he clings to me as he sobs. I hold him close and pull Pete into a hug too, holding my oldest and youngest sons.
"We're OK, Moddy... Are you? You're bleeding!"
"I'll be fine..."
"We're going to the ships, this vacation is over," Dad says and I nod.
"Agreed... A Hell of a vacation... I'm getting tired of getting kidnapped... Damn..." Gamora docks us in my hangar and barely has the gangplank down before Pietro and Petra are on the ship.
"Junior, are you alright?" Petey curls into me and Petra looks offended. "What did you do to him?" She glares at me and I stand, holding my youngest son close as Pete stands nearby.
"Petey, who do you want to live with from now on? Moddy or Daddy?"
"Moddy..."
"Why?"
"Cuz Moddy doesn't leave me alone..." Pietro glares and storms off with Petra following close behind. "Did... Did I do something wrong?"
"Not at all, my little Peter Pan. You didn't do anything wrong."
"OK... I'm tired..." Pete looks at us and I gently brush Petey's hair out of my face.
"Moddy?"
"Yeah, Pete?"
"Can I change my name too?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Jesse...?"
"Sounds good."
"Thanks... You should go lay down with him..."
"Good idea. I'm going to go do that." I take him to my Quarters and lay in bed with him, falling asleep easily.
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The rescued slaves ended up on my ship and two weeks pass, waking me with a reminder for the annual meeting with the Captains at 0545. I go to Mess first and am just finishing eating when Keiko runs it at 0615, an hour and forty-five minutes before the meeting is scheduled. "What is it, Keiko?"
"One of the people we rescued... A Krylorian girl... She- She's-" She can't get it out and I throw my tray onto the cart, following her toward Med. "She's the last kid that got rescued, Ro... The last of all of the people we rescued..."
"I know... I was there with the others... Were you able to find their families?" She nods and, as it hits 0630, I stand next to the young girl who's no older than fifteen judging from her size but that's been known to be deceiving.
"I-I'm scared," She whimpers and I gently hold her hand. "I-I don't want to die..."
"No one wants to die, hun... It's just how it happens sometimes..." She squeezes my hand and I squeeze it gently in return.
"Stay with me? I-I don't want to be alone... And... You remind me of my Mama..." I smile gently at her and pat her hand.
"Of course... Does anything hurt?"
"Yeah... Can-Can I have something for it?" I look at Ella and she nods, gently giving her more pain meds. "Thank you..."
"You're welcome..." She gently touches her hair and walks away.
"Will... Will it hurt?"
"No... No, I don't think it will... It will just be like falling asleep..." She nods and I smile slightly. "It'll be alright... Um... Your Mama?"
"She died..."
"You'll get to see her again..."
"I will?"
"Of course, you will... Anyone you have ever lost? You will see all of them again... I promise..."
"Wow... All of them?"
"All of them..."
"And... And you're gonna stay with me until-?"
"Yes, of course, I will," I reassure gently and she nods.
"Thank you..."
"No need to thank me... Do you want to hear a story?" She nods and I smile gently. "Um... OK... My Momma used to tell me this whenever I couldn't sleep... Then my sister continued to... It's from Terra so some of it may sound weird..." She looks at me and I nod as I recall it.
"There was once a beautiful princess... And she loved to play with her ball behind her castle... One day, she threw her ball too hard and it went into an uncovered well so she sat on the edge and cried over her lost ball... A frog hopped onto the edge next to her and started talking... 'Why are you crying, Princess?' The frog asked, concerned, and the princess looked at the little thing... 'My ball fell into the well. And I can't get it back.' The frog looked into the well then at the princess... 'If I can get it for you, can I come with you to the palace?' The princess agreed quickly and the frog got her ball back... She carried her ball and the frog back to her castle and they became friends... She was nice to the frog and played with it every day...
"But, one day, where the frog slept was a handsome prince... He smiled at the princess and said, 'Thanks to you, I'm back to my real self! Thank you, Princess!' They stayed best friends and got married... Then they lived happily ever after... The end," I recite slowly to make sure it stretches for a while and she smiles.
"That's nice..." I glance at the time to see it was 0745 now and ignore it to instead focus on her. "My name's Mila..." She says after another half hour.
"That is a lovely name, Mila... My name's Rogue... Sorry, it took so long for us to introduce ourselves..."
"It's OK... Mama just said that I should tell you before I go with her and Daddy... Did I do good, Mama?" She smiles at the corner and I smile slightly. "They want me to say thank you... For staying with me..."
"Anyone would do the same, Mila... And it was nice to tell you a story... I'm glad you liked it..." She smiles weakly and I gently rub her arm. "Are they saying it's time to go?"
"Yeah... Goodbye, Rogue... It was nice meeting you..."
"It was nice meeting you too, Mila... Give your parents a big hug when you see them for me, OK?"
"I will... Goodbye..." Her hand drops from mine and her eyes stare blankly at the corner. I gently take her pulse and close her eyes once I'm sure she's gone.
"Goodbye, Mila..." I tuck the covers around her shoulders gently and close the curtain around her cot, looking at the Med team. "Use the same procedure as the others... I will take them to their families once we can locate them and explain what happened... Anyone who didn't have a family, we'll give them a proper funeral soon..."
"Aye, Captain." They go to do other things for an hour until they can move the body and I go to the hangar, meeting Tullk.
"She gone, Cap?" I nod and he hangs his head for a moment. "We oughta git goin'... Wha' ship?"
"The Winter... As always..." He nods and boards it with me, acting as my co-pilot to the meeting planet in silence at 0830. We walk in and he sits next to Kraglin as I go into the room where the Captains are.
"Nice of you to join us," Stakar smirks slightly and I scoff softly, returning the smirk half-heartedly.
"Yeah, yeah. I am the only one to shut the door from now on, however." I shut it behind me and head to my seat. "Apologies for my tardiness. I had pressing matters to attend to... Let's start, shall we?" Pepper nods and starts with the rundown to go in a counter-clockwise manner with the last one being Yondu on my left.
"Rogue, are you alright?" Mainframe asks partway through her rundown and everyone looks at me.
"Of course. Why?"
"You're crying..." I brush my face slightly with my left hand and am slightly surprised to come back with tears.
"Let's, um... Let's take a five-minute break... We'll start with Mainframe when we come back..." The other Captains nod and walk away. The ones that returned are more hesitant but Pepper looks at me and I wave them off as I stand. "I just, um... I need a few minutes..." I go through a side door to a small room that was soundproof and close it, leaning against it slightly as a sob breaks out of my chest through my throat. I cover my mouth and weep softly for all of the innocent lives lost in the past two weeks as I slide to the floor.
A light knock sounds on the door after four minutes and I stand, wiping my face off. Pepper comes in and looks at me. "What's wrong?"
"Pep-"
"Rogue Quill Emyrada. What is wrong? Don't make me call Bucky." I laugh shortly at that and she looks at me, worried. "Seriously. What is it?" My wrist com dings and she sighs. "See what it is." I look at it and feel more tears fall at the news just as the timer goes off. "Damn."
"It's fine..." I hear the other Captains filter back in and she looks at me. "I'll explain it in a second..." She nods and we go back out as I brush the tears away again. "Sorry about that... Before we get started again, allow me to explain..."
"That isn't necessary," Charlie tries and I hold my hand up, making him nod slightly.
"Now... As you may all be aware, my crew with the help of the Guardians and Captain Udonta were able to liberate numerous people from slavery under the Skrull and Kree radicals... But... What you aren't aware of is that they have all died... Despite the best efforts from my medical team... And the last one, a Krylorian girl named Mila, died before I arrived here... She was the youngest at twelve..." They bow their heads slightly and I join them, the door remaining open this time so the First Mates can hear.
"Use this information as a reminder," I say evenly and they all look at me. "If you come across a slave export or have a suspicion of it, the priority is you and your crew's safety as you handle the situation. The second priority is that you handle the situation quickly and with the least amount of casualties possible for our side and the slaves you're liberating. The other guys? Do whatever but try to make sure to take some to the Novas with plenty of evidence. The Kyln Two might be worse than any fate we give them. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Good. If I seem distracted during the meeting, forgive me. I'm working on finding their families so that they can bury them the way they see fit."
"What if you can't?" Aleta asks and I look at her.
"They'll get a proper funeral and I'll ensure you all are informed. Because you will be needed. If we can't find their families, we'll be their families. It's the least they deserve after the torment they went through." They all nod silently and I sit. "Now... Let's continue. Tullk shut the door. Mainframe, please continue." They do as they're told and I listen as I look at messages occasionally from Nebula about the families.