Chapter 2
I give her a quick rundown on how to pilot the Winter and she pays close attention, requesting something of me that I can't refuse. "It's more or less the same for all ships, except for larger ones like the Shadowblade." She nods and I land on Xandar, going to find a ship dealer. "Now to get a cheap ship..." She walks behind me and I go to Chex's shop, knocking on the counter after going in.
"One moment and someone will be r-" The person talking turns around and drops the stuff in their arms when they see me. "C-Captain," Riv whispers nervously and I lift my hand slightly in greeting. "What, um... What can I do for you?"
"I need a ship for cheap that can dig through the crust of a planet easily to get to the core." He looks at me and Vera and Chex come in.
"Solstice?"
"Chex..."
"Cool, you guys know each other. Can-"
"Please leave. Immediately," Chex says simply and Mom leaves quickly. "How can I help you?"
"She needs a ship that can dig through the crust of a planet to get to the core and for cheap."
"I'm not sure how cheap it will be, but I will try my best to find something for you."
"Thanks, Chex." They nod and go to do that. I wait and look around a bit, noticing the two of them keeping an eye on me. "I'm not going to steal from here. Well... I probably won't." I look at some weapons they had and nod a bit. "You guys have weapons for sale now too. Nice."
"Why are you here? Is it to get revenge for us leaving?" I turn to look at them and put my hands in my pockets, thinking.
"Nope. I just need the ship so I can destroy a planet. What's the deal with Chex and Solstice?"
"That's not our place."
"OK. That's fair." I look around some more and get some stuff to make a bomb, new clothes, and a pair of shoes. "Thank you, Rocket," I mutter under my breath and set the stuff on the counter. "You wanna tell Chex that I just need an operating ship? I can make a big fucking boom with this. It'll be Ego's demise all fucking over again," I smirk and Riv nods, going to do that.
"What are you willing to pay for the ship, Dear?"
"What's your lowest price for the ship and this stuff?" They look at the stuff and think.
"Two billion units."
"Deal." I give them a card with two billion units on it and they look it over, checking the balance.
"Thank you, Dear. Please remain safe."
"I'll do my best. Will I be able to send transmissions with the ship? And can I change into these somewhere?"
"Of course." They point to curtained-off areas and smile gently.
"Great." I get changed quickly in a curtained-off area and go back out, adjusting the shoes slightly. "One more thing..."
"What would that be?" I take out my blaster and hold it out to them.
"I need you to blast my implant and make sure I end up on that ship."
"What?"
"I have a tracker in my implant. And I can't let people know where I am. So, I need you to blast my implant. Once that happens, I'm out for a bit so I need to be on the ship before the others get here. No one knows where this shop is on my crew other than me and Solstice. And we're both probably going to die today. She is for sure." They take the blaster and look at the other two.
"Riv and Vera will take you onboard the ship. Does she know how to pilot a ship?"
"I taught her the basics." They nod and raise the blaster slightly. I go down on one knee to make it easier and less painful when I fall.
"May the Gods be with you, Dear." They blast my implant and the explosion in my head comes before I fall to the floor, drowning in a sea of darkness.
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I come too on the bunk of the ship and gasp as I sit up. Mom looks at me slightly and sets the ship to autopilot. "Glad to see you're finally awake. It was a good idea to leave your arrow on your other ship and destroying your implant. I'm impressed."
"Gee, thanks," I mutter and my head was pounding. "How close are we?"
"Just outside the atmosphere."
"I need to send out a transmission to someone." She nods and I go up to Controls, pulling up a screen before I pause to think about who to contact. "All of them, I guess. Good thing group transmissions exist." I send an invitation to the Eclector, Starhawk, Aleta, Charlie, Krugarr, Mainframe, and Doc's ships.
They answer together and look confused. "What's with the different frequency, Rogue?" Stakar asks and I rub the back of my neck slightly, thinking of what to say.
"We've got a different ship and we're dealing with the Skrulls," Mom says from behind me and I nod slightly in agreement.
"Wha'?" Yondu barks and I look at his screen to see he was immensely pissed. "Girl, Ah knew ya was stupid a lot 'a the time! This ain't got nothin' on 'em otha times! Wha' the Hell ya thinkin'?"
"That it's about damned time for these assholes to be extinct."
"Are you going to put the bomb together or am I supposed to?"
"I am so sorry for being unconscious, Solstice. Yes, I'm going to put it together."
"Where did you learn to make a bomb?"
"Tha' fuckin' Rat!"
"Well, yeah." I grab the stuff and look at it a bit, thinking for a moment before I start to put it together. "Look. You can't talk me out of doing this. I just need you, idiots, to..." I drift off as I finally come to terms with what's about to happen and don't continue speaking, tears stinging the backs of my eyes as I make the bomb.
"To look out for her family and crew if she doesn't survive. Which is highly plausible seeing as how we are destroying the planet that houses my life source to get rid of the Skrull," Mom says simply and I nod a bit, continuing to make the bomb so that I have a way to focus so I don't cry.
"This is stupid. Where are you?"
"We aren't going to tell you that but we do appreciate your opinion and concern. There's a... Twenty-five percent chance that she will survive."
"An' yer fine with leaving yer kids an' man behind like tha'? No sayin' goodbye?" Kraglin asks and I freeze in making the bomb, tightening my grip on my tools slightly. "Why?"
"This-"
"Ah asked the Kid. Not ya."
"This is the best way to get rid of the Skrulls... And it makes bloodshed smaller..." I go back to making the bomb as I start talking and my hands were shaking slightly.
"That's bullshit and you know it, Rogue!" Mom reaches out to end the transmission and I catch her hand.
"Don't even fucking think about it."
"The robot is tracking us as we waste time."
"We got her back and you expect us to let her go again? Are you fucking insane, lady?" Aleta growls and I'm shocked, putting the tools down to rub my face as I tilt my head back slightly, hands covering my face. "Why are you having her do this?"
"She agreed to it."
"Why, Rogue? Haven't we lost enough?" Mainframe asks softly and I take a strained deep breath. "Answer me!"
"I'm sorry..." I look at the transmission as I slide my hands down my face, revealing I had been crying, and they look slightly shocked. "I... I can't lose any more of you jackasses... And... Every solar cycle that these assholes are still alive... There is a chance that I'm going to... I... I can't handle that... You guys... You're... You're my family and..."
"Rogue..."
"No, shut up, Sparkles... You assholes have always fucking been there for me... And... Made sure I didn't die... Now, though... If... When I don't come back... I need you to take care of the kids... And... And help Loki... He... He's going to be a mess... And so will the crew... Just... Be there for them like you were for me... If I make it back, you guys can kill me yourselves... But... I need you guys to be there for them... Please, I'm begging you... Please..."
"Girl-"
"Promise me... For as long as you guys can... Please..."
"Alright, Rogue. We will," Charlie says softly and I nod a bit, a tear sliding down my face before I quickly wipe it away.
"Thank you... And... Thank you for being there for me... I, uh..." I take a deep breath and look away for a moment before looking back. "I, um... I love you guys..." They're thoroughly shocked at that and I end the transmission, taking a deep breath before I finish the bomb as Mom lands.
"Heartbreaking," She mutters drily and I ignore her, setting it up so that the button has a ten-minute timer. "How are we getting that to the core?"
"I've got a plan... You just need to keep them busy." She nods and we both disembark, among a lot of trees. "Good cover... Get to distracting them." She goes to do that and I go over to a dense group of trees, focusing on the ground to open a hole to the core there.
It opens and I extend some vines as well before I repel myself down, moving as quickly as possible.
I drop next to the core and go toward it with the bomb, connecting it to the side carefully. I pull out a holopad and start a timer for ten minutes as I start the timer on the bomb to know how much time I'd have to try to get off this planet. I slide the holopad in my pocket and climb back up the vines quickly.
I close the hole and duck as blaster fire goes off above my head. "Welp, time to run!" I bolt between trees and dodge slightly to avoid the blaster fire going off behind me, rounding a tree. I grab a low-hanging branch and swing myself onto it, climbing a bit higher quickly.
"Where did she go?" Someone barks and I look through the branches to see Skrulls holding Mom.
"I don't know!" They hit her to the ground and I jump out of the tree, landing on top of them to knock them out.
"You good?" She nods and I pull her to her feet, checking the time. "Five minutes went already... Five left before it goes off... How did you distract them?"
"I got all of the children and slaves onto a ship and they're being piloted to Xandar as we speak."
"Nice work. I'm surprised. How are you sure the slaves weren't high-level Skrulls in disguise?"
"I made sure." I nod slightly and hear a group coming our way.
"This way," I hiss and drag her away quickly as she stumbles behind me.
"What's the plan?"
"Waste time until it goes off." I grab her arm and bite it, hard before I spit out red blood. "Nice. Let's go." I run into an alley and simply throw her up. "Grab the side of the roof." She does and pulls herself up with some difficulty.
"Halt!"
"Fuck you!" I run and waste time.
When only ninety seconds remain on the timer, I run back to where I left Mom and scale the building as quickly as possible. "Razi... You came back..." She smiles a bit as I drop next to her and I notice there are only thirty seconds left on the timer.
"I gave you my word that I wouldn't let you die alone. I'm going to keep it. When I found out you were still alive, I was pissed."
"Razi-"
"Let me say this. I was pissed and I still kind of am. But... I'm glad that I got to meet and talk to you for a little bit even if we only argued..." I see there are only five seconds left and hug her tightly. "I... I love you, Momma..." She hugs me back and cradles my head against her shoulder.
"I love you too, my sweet baby Razi..." The timer goes off and the planet shakes violently.
"Say hi to Dad and Keiko for me..."
"I will..." She pulls away and holds my face in her hands, smiling gently. "You are an amazing woman and I love you so much..." She kisses my forehead and turns to dust. Just like Jay did.
I take a shaky breath and look around to see the planet crumbling, standing. "It's OK... Everything's gonna be OK..." I hear ships crash through the planet's surface and the screams. "Everything's gonna be OK..." I cover my ears tightly and squeeze my eyes shut, not having a way off of the planet.
"There once was a ship that put to sea, And the name of that ship was the Billy o' Tea, The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down, Blow, me bully boys, blow (Huh!)
"Soon may the Wellerman come, To bring us sugar and tea and rum, One day, when the tonguin' is done, We'll take our leave and go," I sing softly to drown everything out and calm down, taking a deep breath as I uncover my ears and open my eyes.
"How dare you?" Blaster fire goes off in front of me and I step back slightly before just jumping off of the roof.
"While this seems like a lot of fun, I've gotta go. Bye." I look at the Skrulls surrounding me and holes open beneath them suddenly. They fall through with screams and I jump over the holes to find somewhere quiet to probably die as the buildings also get swallowed by the ground. I end up in the middle of an empty area that was probably the town and I just sit down, singing softly again.
Suddenly, the planet is completely gone and I put my backup oxygen around my neck on my face, just giving up at this point. "This is fine..." I close my eyes and just float there, keeping my breathing steady as I feel the ice begin to form on my body.
I feel the pull of a tractor beam as I'm dragged onto a ship but I don't bother to open my eyes until there's light and squint when I do before shadows fall over me. "Welcome home, Kid," Kraglin says icily and drags me to my feet with Charlie before I recognize the airlocks.
"Been a while since I've been on board the Eclector..." The rest of the Captains and First Mates in my Misfit Family come in and Loki comes in with the remaining parts, minus my crew, but Nebula was there. Yondu comes over and was pissed. "Hey, Gramps! How are y-" I get cut off when he slams his fist into my stomach and I double over in pain, groaning. "Yeah... Yeah, that's fair..." Kraglin and Charlie drag me back up after a moment and I pant slightly. "Ow..." He glares at me and was winding his fist up for another punch. "Hang on, hang on!" I put my hands up slightly and he glares at me more.
"Wha'?"
"Two quick questions. One, I'm gonna get the shit beat out of me, yeah?" He just stares at me, glaring more, and I nod. "Thought so, thought so... Can we at least make sure that the shit I need to see doesn't get broken? Can I take my glasses off first?" He looks at the two of them and nods a bit before they let me go. "Thank you." I look out of another airlock and act like there's something weird there. "Um... What's that?"
"Wha's wha'?" They look and I take the opportunity to bolt, knowing they turn around when Yondu starts cussing loudly. I trip on something and fall through a portal before I land hard on my back at Yondu's feet a minute later.
"How'd that work for you?" Tony asks and I respond by flipping him off before Charlie and Stakar drag me to my feet again. Loki comes over and simply pulls me down to his level, immensely pissed.
"I will take these." He takes my glasses off of my face and I can't see much of anything anymore. "Captain Udonta, feel free to continue now."
"'Appy ta." He punches me again and I keep my composure better this time.
"Come on, Gramps... Getting sentimental in your old age cuz it feels like you're pulling your punches..." I regret it as soon as I say it because he stops pulling his punches and thoroughly beats the shit out of me, probably breaking a few of my ribs.
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By the time he's done, I've got at least three broken ribs, a busted lip, a black eye, a bleeding nose, and a whole Hell of a lot of bruises. Oh, and I can barely breathe or stand on my own because he also injured my left knee. "Gonna say any other stupid shit?" Tony asks and I run my tongue over my teeth slightly.
"Kinda what I do," I scoff, regretting that quickly as it makes my ribs hurt, and grit my teeth slightly.
"Wha'cha think, boy? Tha' 'nough?"
"Do I get a say in this?" I ask as I raise my hand slightly and Stakar hits me in the head. "Didn't think so... Cool..."
"From you, yes." I'm immensely confused and barely see Yondu nod.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Oh, you were under the impression that you were getting off easy with just Captain Udonta doing this? No. No, no, no. You will not get so lucky," Loki says simply and his tone is chilling.
"Yeah, that isn't creepy nor ominous whatsoever."
"Not at all. It means that Yondu, Marty, Obfonteri, Stakar, Aleta, and I will get a chance at you," Charlie explains shortly and I nod slightly.
"Cool, cool, cool... Well... When that's done, I need to make a stop on Xandar to get my shit back from Chex's shop."
"And you will be escorted," Loki says with an obvious smirk in his voice and Yondu snickers.
"Yeah, not happening. I told Chex that they'd only ever deal with me and two crewmembers who now work for them."
"Then it seems as though you will not be going to their shop."
"Y'know, you are immensely infuriating."
"And yet, as you like to say, you decided to marry me." Someone snorts and covers it with a cough.
"Fuck off, Indri."
"I didn't do anything!"
"Sure. And if everyone I grew up around is supposed to have a go at me, you're gonna need to ease up just a bit."
"What? Your mouth write a check your ass can't cover?" Tony scoffs and I flip him off.
"I still believe that this is a terrible idea," Doc says and gets ignored so Martinex can come up.
"It will be fine," Loki assures and Martinex punches me in the stomach.
"Son of a mother fucker," I growl softly as I double over slightly and Stakar and Charlie pull me to be straight again. "Aren't you supposed to give off good energy, you crystal ass?"
"Aren't you supposed to be in pain?" He punches me again and I growl loudly, clenching my jaw to try to keep quiet and keep control of myself.
"That is enough," Doc says simply and they come into my line of sight, putting my glasses back on my face. "Let go of her."
"She still has-"
"I'm sorry, I was not aware that I stuttered. Let. Go. Of. Her. Now," They growl and the two of them let go of me. My hands were twitching and they grab one of them gently as they have me sit, Segs sitting next to them. "Tap, Rogue." I tap my fingers against their hand quickly and Segs holds his hands palm up in his lap. "Slowly," They say gently and I tap their hand a little slower.
I suddenly hit Segs' open palm with my other hand and start to apologize. "Shh. Tap." I go back to tapping Doc's hand and Segs pulls something out of his pocket, putting it in my other hand. I fidget with it while tapping against Doc's hand still and end up throwing it at Segs.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine, my Dear. You don't have the best control over your body currently and that's alright. Tap." I keep tapping and can feel myself coming back to myself as I slow down my taps. "There we are. How are you feeling?" I take a deep breath and calm fully, taps stopping. Doc gently takes my pulse and nods after a minute.
"Good. Now... This is done because it is clear none of you took into account her history and how easily she can lose herself sometimes. If you are still upset over what she did, find a different way to deal with it. Come along, Rogue. I am going to take you to get fixed up. Strange, would you be so kind as to open a portal to the Med Bay on my ship?" They stand before pulling me to my feet and Doc Strange opens the portal. "Much obliged." They pull me through it with Segs following and push me onto a cot as the portal closes.
"It has been a long time since you have had any anxiety ticks, Rogue. What was happening?"
"I... I almost lost control of myself and slipped into survival mode..."
"I see. Well, allow us to fix you up." They start to do that and I sit still so they can, fidgeting with the thing I threw at Segs.