Chapter 5
I hear something behind me but decide to ignore it for now and look at Mom's grave, sighing softly. "It's been a while, Momma..." I whisper and move to be on one knee, making sure everything was off of her gravestone. "Sorry 'bout that... But it was out of my control... There's a lot of things I've always wanted to ask you... But, I'm kinda glad you aren't here right now... I'm making a mess of things here... Because my list of issues has gotten longer since the last time I visited..." I rub the back of my neck and sigh again, hanging my head a bit.
"Wha'cha doin', girl?" I stand and spin to look at Yondu, seeing him staring at me.
"What the Hell, Gramps? Trying to give me a heart attack?" I scoff and he narrows his eyes at me. "I'm visiting my Mom like I do every time I'm on this damned rock."
"Y'know, ya can fool yerself an' everyone else. But ya can't fool me. Ah know who ya are."
"Do you now?"
"Ah know everything 'bout ya. Ya play like yer the meanest an' the hardest. But yer the most scared 'a all!"
"Is that so?"
"Ah know ya push away anyone who wants ta put up with ya. Cuz jus' a lil' bit 'a love reminds ya tha' ya got a big an' empty hole inside 'a ya!"
"Are you done?"
"Ah know them, people, ya was with when Krags grabbed ya ain't gave a rat's ass 'bout ya! Jus' like m'own damn parents! Who sold me, they own lil' baby, into slavery! Ah know who ya is, girl... Cuz yer me." He stares at me intently and I raise an eyebrow at him.
"That's the same speech you gave Rocket before you fought Ego, Gramps. Rocket told me it at that job on Xandar all those years ago after getting drunk. So. You done now?" He glares at me and I nod slightly, heading back to the cabin with him following close behind me.
We get back to the cabin and something was off. I go up to the door and see it was partially open while I notice curtains move away from the window slightly, allowing me to see Yondu coming up behind me with a knife. I whistle sharply and cut his face, green blood pooling out of the cut. "Not today, bitch," I smirk and whistle again, sending my arrow through their throat before taking the knife.
The door gets flung open and I'm thrown inside as they yank the warm coat off, seeing my family, the Avengers, and their family tied up with Yondu gagged so he can't whistle. All of them were, for some weird reason. The knife goes flying toward the wall to the right of the door and I end up on the floor in front of the kids.
"I suggest you two find a happy place and ignore everything that's about to happen to save you from trauma," I warn them softly and watch them do that.
"Well, well, well... It seems we have quite the predicament on our hands." I stand and look at the stairs where a Skrull with markings to show they were important was standing. "Slaves should bow before their Masters, 22-3-16," She says simply and I make a show of looking around the room before looking back at her.
"Well... That's interesting... I don't see any slaves around here... Just a couple of pompous asshats that are gonna get their asses handed to them in a minute for breaking into my house and fucking with my friends and family," I smirk as I take my gloves off and the one that threw me in punches me in the mouth, knocking me onto my ass.
"Watch your mouth!" He snarls and I wipe my hand across my mouth, seeing the blood on the back of it.
"You made me bleed my own blood. How dare you?" I stand and he punches me in the mouth again, knocking me back onto the floor. "That's gonna get real old real quick." I run my tongue over my teeth and find one he knocked out, spitting it in his face with blood. "Enjoy the memento, asshat. Because you're only getting, maybe, three more hits like that. If it's one of my good days." I stand and he kicks me hard enough that I go flying into the wall behind the others, crumbling to the floor with the drywall.
"There's one," He scoffs and I stand again, looking at him.
"Nope. That kick counted for six. My turn." I peel my jacket off as I go toward him and he swings at me. I duck under his arm and slide between his legs, stabbing him in his throat with the knife. He falls to the floor once I remove the knife and I spin it slightly, holding it against my wrist. One of the other guards comes over and lunges at me. I crouch and use her momentum to send her flying into a wall, making the drywall crumble around her.
"Damn, gonna have to fix two holes, now," I sigh and step backward to avoid a knife getting thrown at my face. "That was not very cash money of you, my guy." Peter laughs and I look at the Skrull who threw it. He unbuckles a whip from his belt and snaps it on the floor, smirking at me. "Ah, yes, that thing. Zero out of ten, would not recommend." He looks confused and snaps it at me. I raise my arm to keep it from hitting me in the face and it wraps around it.
"Perfect." He yanks the whip and I fall onto my face.
"You missed the perfect opportunity to say 'yoink' as you did that. I have never been more disappointed in my life." I wrap the whip around my hand as I stand and yank it out of his while saying "Yoink, you fucking filthy cunt bucket." I catch the handle with my other hand, the knife in my pocket for now, and unwrap it from my arm and hand quickly. "Like that. See how easy it was?" He lunges at me and I move to the side, wrapping the whip around his throat easily.
"Now, you are going to be restricted airflow into your lungs meaning you can't breathe and will slowly start to lose all feeling in your body before you lose consciousness. Where you will either die or be close to dying. Asphyxiation and drowning, I hear they're two of the most terrifying ways to die because you're unable to stop it and are hyper-aware of everything as you get closer and closer to the cold yet sweet embrace of death. However, I don't have the time or patience for that. So..." I yank both ends of the whip and decapitate him. "That will have to suffice for now."
"Die!" The Skrull woman from earlier yells and I lift the blade, impaling her on it since she was jumping at me.
"Nah, not today." I look at the Head Honcho and see she was the last one standing. "It's just you now, bitch. What you gonna do now that you don't have guards to hide behind?" I smirk and she looks at me before simply bolting. "Wasn't expecting that..." I toss the blade slightly and throw it, lodging it in her fancy cape to pin her to the doorframe.
"Now! Do it now!" She yells and Kraglin gets thrown over the banister, a whip wrapped around his throat. "Kraglin Obfonteri, for crimes against the Skrulls, your Masters, you are sentenced to death!" She smirks at me and I glare at her. "You have to either save him or kill me now. You can't have it both ways." I growl wordlessly and punch her in the face, knocking her out, I think. I go up the stairs and kick the two guards away from the whip tied to the banister before I quickly untie it. He falls to the floor and coughs, looking up at me.
"Run, kid! Tha' was a trap!" The two guards come over and grab me. I snarl and bite both of their arms, making them let go of me. One of them tries to grab me again and I launch myself over the banister, probably fucking my leg up but who cares? I quickly free Kraglin and he rubs his neck slightly.
"Surrender or I will kill the little ones!" The important one yells and I glare at her, seeing her pointing a blaster at each of the kids. Then she looks around and sees Jay. "Actually... I'll kill these two." She points one at Indri and one at Jay. "Your choice!" She smirks and I think for a moment before dropping to one knee, the box with my snowboarding equipment behind me, passing the knife to Kraglin carefully.
"Good choice." She lowers the blasters and I beam her in the face with my helmet, knocking her onto her ass from the force while I go over. "Why you little..." She starts to get back up but I kick her in the face and knock her back down before kicking the blasters away carefully, toward Kraglin so he could deal with the other two. She grabs my ankle and pulls me onto the floor before getting on top of me. I flip us and pin her down, not holding back as I whale on her face with my fist.
I have to be physically pulled off by Thor and Bucky. "She's dead," Bucky says and I see that he was right because I had beaten her to death. They let me go and I notice my arm and hand is a violent red from the whip being wrapped around them, surprised they weren't bleeding. Senso was helping Kraglin into a chair so Lumes could check him over and pain explodes in my leg since the adrenaline of a fight was wearing off. I sit in a chair and Indri runs over, putting his hands on my knees.
"Are you OK, Rogue?" He looks at me and I pat his head gently, glancing slightly at Kraglin. He waves a bandaged hand at me and I look at it with a raised eyebrow. "They already checked my blood. Not green." I ruffle his hair with a slight grin and he smiles back before going away, leaving a rag. I wipe my hands off to get rid of the green blood and watch disinterestedly as Jaz and Tex deal with their bodies.
"You've rubbed at that same spot five times, kid. It's already off." I look up and see Dad until I blink, then Rocket's there. "You gonna finish cleaning your hands or just stare at me all day?" I roll my eyes and finish cleaning my hands off before he takes the rag, dealing with it.
Lumes comes over after fixing Kraglin up and looks at my leg. "What are you doing?"
"When you landed, there was a loud snap. Didn't you hear it?"
"Nope. Was more worried about other things. Like fighting."
"As if you were still with the Kree," She says carefully and I don't respond for a moment, noticing the silence in the room, before I barely nod. "Everything feels like it's falling apart when it should feel like it's coming back together." She finds what snapped earlier and snaps it back into place, making me growl loudly in pain while I grip the arms of the chair. "Sorry. Needed to set your bone." She puts a brace on and brushes her hands against each other slightly. "There. Take it easy and it'll be healed by the end of the week."
"You got it, Doc. Thanks..." She nods and goes back over to Yondu. I watch them out of the corner of my eye and Yondu lights up when she comes over. They talk to each other softly and she smiles at him, both of them looking happy, Yondu looking happier than I've ever seen him look. Morgan comes over and I look at her, raising an eyebrow. "What?"
"Will your tooth grow back? The one you spit at that guy before he kicked you. I saw it before I did what you told me to do. Why'd they have to check everybody's blood?"
"The Skrull are shapeshifters and annoying things that like to take shape of someone their target was close to so they can lure the target in and either A, kill them. Or B, capture them to make them a slave." She looks scared at that and Tony glares at me. "They wouldn't have taken or hurt you. They were using everyone as leverage to get what they wanted." That doesn't seem to help as she gets more scared at that and Pepper just guides Morgan away from me.
"Maybe don't talk to my kid. About anything unless Pepper and I have okayed it. OK?"
"Sure, Stark. Whatever you say." He walks away and I rub the back of my neck, kind of annoyed at myself now because I didn't mean to scare the kid. I just don't sugarcoat shit if I'm asked a question point-blank and I give the honest answer when they need to know it. Which, in my opinion, she did need to know and now her parents are pissed at me. "Lovely," I mutter under my breath and rest my head against the back of the chair, closing my eyes as I move my hand to rest my temple against my fingers with my elbow on the arm of the chair.
Someone plops on the couch next to the chair and just sits there silently. "I chose a chair on the other side of the room from people for a reason," I plainly state and don't even open my eyes to see who it is, expecting them to leave.
"Guess that means you don't want the booze?" Rocket asks and I crack one eye open to see him holding two glasses, finishing one of them. "I can always drink it," He smirks and I take one, sitting up as I open my eyes. "Guess you do want it." I hit him in the head and he falls off of the couch.
"That was not supposed to be that hard... My bad..." He gets up and dusts himself off, glaring at me. "Sorry, Rocket..." He storms off as a response and I down the booze, standing.
"Rogue, you should try to stay off your leg as much as possible while it heals," Lumes tells me carefully and I set the glass down on the table, looking at her.
"I'll be on it for five minutes, max. Then I'm getting off of it. Alright?" She nods and I leave the cabin, walking for a bit. I board the Milano and sit on the bunk, looking around a bit.
I see Dad and Gamora dancing together at their wedding near Controls, the two of them decked out with clothes for that job on Xandar when I was twelve, their smiling faces from Dad's stealing, them sparring with me with smiles on their faces, them teaching me how to shoot large blasters with Rocket's help, them participating in my stealing, them smiling and cheering loudly at my wedding, our first Christmas celebration, them with Indri, when they got me back fully, and the two of them falling to the ground, their hands clasping the others in their last moments. Then I see Indri and Jay getting blasted, even if it hadn't happened.
"Damnit..." I fold my hands on the back of my head with my elbows on my knees and watch a few tears drip onto the floor quickly, closing my eyes against them. "Damnit... Why can't they just leave us alone? Then they would still be here... Damnit!" I sit up and hit the wall next to the bunk with one hand while wiping at my face with the other.
"Feel better?" I look at Rocket and he was leaning against the door to Dad and Gamora's room, looking at me.
"How long have you been there?"
"Since you got on." He looks around the ship a bit and flips a switch, turning off the holograms that I thought were hallucinations. "Quill had a stockpile of videos, even the new ones, kept them up to date and configured to back up while they were being recorded. Figured I'd watch them. You didn't answer my question. Feel better?" He walks over and looks at me with his arms crossed, making me roll my eyes.
"Yeah, feel so much better. Thanks for asking." He reaches his tiny paw through the brace and presses against my leg, hard. I gasp and groan in pain
"Feel better? Truth, this time." He pulls his paw out and I pant a bit.
"No... OK? They just got me back... Then we all lose them because of the damned Kree! Because they tried to save Indri and Morgan! Why did they always have to be the damned heroes? Why couldn't the Avengers, the protectors of Earth do something? Why did it have to be my damn family? Haven't we lost enough? We... They didn't even get to say goodbye..." He watches me as I rant and eventually as I breakdown, curling into myself. "I... I didn't get to tell them anything that I want to now..."
"Like what?" I look at him and he waves his paw slightly. "They ain't gone yet. Might as well say it now... And I want to hear," He says awkwardly and I wipe at my face, getting rid of the tears.
"Gamora kinda became my Mom... She was the one that taught me the stuff I needed to know when Dad, Gramps, or Krags wouldn't... And Dad... He wasn't as terrible as he always seemed to be when I was younger... That being told they were dead did break me as bad as when I was told Gramps and Krags were dead... That... That I love them," I finish in a lame whisper and don't look at him, rubbing my face a bit.
"They knew that stuff, kid. You never had to tell them. Cuz they already knew. So stop that crying and pull through, like you always do. Cuz you're too damn stubborn to do anything else. It's gonna be OK." He pats my leg gently and I give him a small smile, making him sigh. He hugs me and I tense a bit, surprised before I hug him back.
"Rocket..."
"What?"
"You're not terrible either... And... Yeah..."
"Yeah... Back atcha, kid..." He pats my back gently and we let each other go, seeing Drax in the doorway with a holopad as I wipe tears off of my face.
"Drax, what did you do?" He taps a few things and my wrist com buzzes. I tap it and a holographic picture of me hugging Rocket with tear tracks on my face pops up. Rocket looks at me as he gets the same and Drax walks off, smirking because he was proud of himself.
"That is for saying that I am toxic. I have sent it to Indri, the rest of the Guardians, all of the crews, Captains, and the other Terrans. Enjoy being a Captain while it lasts!" I was tense on the bunk and can feel my heart rate spike while my breathing gets shorter and faster. Rocket looks at me and gently grabs my face with both of his paws, making me look at him.
"Hey, kid. Calm down. It's fine. You're fine." He gently digs his claws into my face and I wince a bit, calming down. "Mantis ain't the only one who can calm you down," He mutters with a smirk and I kinda laugh, breathing normal and heart rate going back to where it should be. "See? You're fine." I nod and stand just as Stakar boards with Mainframe.
"Leave, Rat."
"Not happening. You're stuck with me."
"Why's that?" He raises an eyebrow at the two of us and I rest my hand gently on Rocket's head to ground me, which he allows.
"He's the only thing keeping me sane right now and from killing Drax."
"Care to explain that picture?"
"I'm trying a new grieving technique. It's called not burying my feelings until I explode. And not meeting them at the bottom of a bottle. Better late than never." I shrug and my wrist com buzzes again, showing an incoming video transmission from Jay. "Give me a minute and we can continue this conversation," I mutter and go into a room before answering the transmission. "What's up, Jay?" I notice he was outside in the backyard and he smiles at me.
"Just checking in on you. You OK?" I shrug a bit and he smiles gently at me. "Well, I love you, sweet girl. OK?"
"I love you, too, alienboy..." I smile a bit and he smiles back before ending the transmission after a few moments of silence. I go back out to the main area and lean against the wall slightly to get some weight off of my leg since it was starting to hurt.
"It isn't like you to show your emotions so easily, Rogue. Are you alright?" Mainframe looks at me, worried, and I shrug a bit until Rocket kicks my foot in the brace.
"No, I'm not... Not right now, at least. Today hasn't been the best... Because Dad died early this morning with Gamora..." I rub my neck a bit and Mainframe looks at me sympathetically and with a little bit of pity. "I'll be back to myself soon." I grin reassuringly and she smiles back.
"How soon?"
"I'll try to pull myself together by the time the annual meeting comes up, Stakar."
"Alright. Grieve healthily, but not around Drax." I nod my understanding and he comes over, patting my shoulder before pulling me into a one-armed hug. "We all feel the loss... Now, I suggest, going to find Drax and kicking his ass."
"My pleasure," I smirk as he lets me go and I start to go toward the door.
"Cap'n!" I stop when Tex appears in the door and we all look at him. "There's something wrong with Jay," He pants and I tense slightly.
"Lead the way, Tex." He nods and leads the way with me close behind.
We end up on the back porch and Jay was laying in the snow, about four feet from the porch steps. I go over and carefully kneel on the side that Lumes wasn't on, my back to the porch. "Rogue...?" He looks at me and I run my fingers through his hair slightly. "What... What's happening?"
"The Docs are trying to figure that out, Jay. It'll be OK."
"OK..." He smiles at me a bit and I smile back. "Hold my hand?" He whispers and I nod, gently lifting his bare hand to hold it in mine. I press it to my lips gently and he smiles, twisting his wrist to gently cup my cheek. I lean into it slightly and he smiles weakly at me. "I love you, sweet girl..."
"I love you, too, alienboy..."
"I'm glad that'll be one of the last things I say to you..."
"Hey, don't talk like that. You're gonna be fine. You probably got the flu or something. Or your body is telling you to sleep. But you'll be fine. You have to be," I whisper and he smiles at me.
"If you say so..." I look at Lumes as I go back to holding his hand and she had her eyebrows furrowed.
"Got anything, Doc?"
"No... I can't find what's afflicting him..."
"Keep looking. Please," I whisper and she does that, scanning his body.
"Rogue..." I look at Jay and he gently pulls me down to kiss me. I kiss him back and pull away after a moment. He smiles gently at me and closes his eyes. "I love you," He murmurs and I squeeze his hand gently.
"I love you, too..." He smiles and squeezes my hand back before it goes limp. He starts to turn to dust and I watch in shock. The dust gets absorbed by the ground and I drop my hand against my thigh, not sure how to react to whatever the Hell just happened.
My wrist com buzzing snaps me out of my trance and I accept the video transmission that's coming through from an unknown frequency as Lumes stands while I follow suit, gritting my teeth against the pain in my leg.
"Hello, 22-3-16. How is 33-4-17 doing? Especially since we destroyed the planet that housed the life source that he inherited from his mother?" A Kree leader asks with a smirk and I look at the transmission, noticing Lumes looking shocked.
"They what?" She whispers and I clench my fist at my side.
"You did what?"
"We destroyed the planet that housed his life source. As a celestial, which is what you two are, you will each have a life source at the base of a planet. We are searching for your mother's planet which you would have inherited with a life source. Did he die a painful death? Or did he simply turn to dust? Because you will soon suffer the same fate as him." I clench my fist tighter and stand straighter, pissed.
"You destroyed his life source?"
"Are you that daft? Yes, we did. Should we explain anything else to you slowly so you can understand, slave 22-3-16?"
"Then you're going to wish all that happens to you is being turned to dust. All of you are getting destroyed for this."
"Is that supposed to scare us?" They laugh and I feel a cold grin spread across my face.
"If you had any brain cells, you would be. I'll see you soon enough, you Kree scum." I end the transmission and pop my knuckles, pissed beyond belief, as I turn to go inside.
"Kid, take a second and breathe before you do something stupid!" Rocket yells and I push past him.
"No! Allow her to get herself killed by trying to take on the Kree on her own!" Drax laughs and I freeze, turning after a short moment to look at Drax.
"You mean like you did on Knowhere?"
"You speak of affairs that you know nothing about!" He growls and I look at him.
"That is true. And you have no respect."
"That is also true," Rocket adds in a mutter and shuts up after a short glare from Lumes.
"You called Ronan to satisfy your need for revenge against him when everyone else was trying to figure out what the Hell was in the orb you idiots gave to the Nova Corps. You had to get your sorry ass dragged out of a giant pot of yellow crap because Ronant kicked your ass. Groot had to save your stupid ass. You being a dumbass set on revenge while the rest of your team was trying to find a plan to help you get it while saving a planet almost got you killed and let Ronan get the damned thing you were trying to keep him from getting. You take your misery out on anyone around you because you hate being the one who lived while you watched your family die. You become more of an unbearable ass when you get called out on it because you can't stand being shown your weaknesses or how you screwed up. You're called Drax the Destroyer. I think it's because you destroy any good thing that comes your way. After all, you're such an asshole to anyone around you! So before you start talking shit about me, you better be a damned perfect person! I am not going to put up with your bullshit!"
While I was talking, I was walking towards him and he was walking backward for each step I took. "You have no right to speak to me this way! At least I did not allow my father to stand up for my honor when I was grown! I have more honor than you will ever have!"
"Fuck honor! I don't give a damned about that! Those fucking assholes killed my family! I will be damned if I allow them to hurt anyone else I care about! Not even your dumbass!" I shove him in the middle of his chest and he stumbles back a step before he swings at me, hitting me in the face. I stumble slightly and clench my fist tightly, breathing heavily. I take a deep breath and look at him.
"I never said I was taking on the Kree by myself. Just that they were going to be destroyed for what they've done today. I'm sorry for what I said... I shouldn't have said it... It was said in anger and I apologize..." He looks shocked and nods slightly.
"I apologize as well..." We were a decent distance from the others and I rub my face, sighing softly.
"Do you want to help me take down the Kree?"
"Yes."
"Then a team's getting made, alright?" He nods and I lick my lips slightly. "Also, don't hit me again. Or I'll have to kick your ass worse than this." I punch him in the face and he stumbles to the side a bit. "Watch yourself, Drax. We might be family, but I can't handle losing a crew today too," I murmur to him and he barely nods, flexing his jaw a bit.
"'Ey, Kid!" I turn and catch the sword Kraglin tosses me as he walks over. "Gamora woulda wanted ya ta 'ave it." I attach it to my hip and take the knives he offers me. "Ya need yer stuff if yer gonna take 'em down. Yeah?" He grins and I smirk, putting the holsters where they belong. "'Ere." He hands me a holster for my arrow and I hold it in my hands.
"Oh, I've missed having a spot for my arrow," I mutter and attach it to my belt loop, whistling my arrow into it. "That's more like it." I grin and Rocket comes over.
"Gamora wanted you and Drax to have her weapons if anything happened to her. So... Here. Drax already got what he wanted." He hands me a few things and I attach them to my hip and thigh, twirling the fighting staff around my hand seamlessly. "How... Never mind. What's your plan?"