Chapter 9
"My issue?"
"Yeah. What do you have against me that you're being such a little prick to me?"
"Mom and Dad told me stories about you and they painted you as if you were this awesome person. Now that I've met you... You're just a broken and terrible person." He stares at me and walks past me while everyone is silent.
"A broken and terrible person, huh?" I scoff and he turns to look at me, nodding. "Y'know what? You're probably right about that. So... How about this?"
"What?" I suddenly grab him by the front of his shirt and slam him against the wall, feet way off the floor so we can be eye level.
"How about you try being hated for being part of something you couldn't control. How about you try being beaten by random people. How about you try being sold to slavers for a crate of space liquor! By your grandparents! How about you try feeling like your entire world is falling apart around you and you can't do a damn thing to stop it.
"How about you try being broken down every solar cycle for seven annual cycles until you're an empty shell of whoever you might have been before that. How about you try having someone you just met that you swore to protect act like you're the worst person they've ever met because of your past. How about you try having to deal with what I have going on in my fucking head all hours of a solar cycle for a few of them and see what I have to deal with. How about you watch what the fuck you say before I lose my damned temper," I snarl in his face and drop him to the floor, walking out the back door.
I walk around the backyard and occasionally take swigs of the beer, pissed off at myself. "Great job of showing him you're not a terrible person, Rogue. Real fucking smooth. Fucking dumbass. Gods," I mutter and stop walking as I finish my beer, tossing the bottle slightly to catch the neck of it. I toss the bottle more to switch how I'm holding it and do that a few times before I set it on the porch step.
"Are you done trying to be edgy now?" Peter asks and I don't respond, going back to walking the backyard. "Alright then. I tried. Indri! Your turn," He calls as he goes back inside and I continue to walk around the backyard, hands folded on the back of my neck.
I get hit in the back of the head with a snowball and turn to look at Indri, seeing him smirking. "Seriously?"
"What're you gonna do about it?" He opens his arms out and I roll my eyes. He throws another snowball at me and I dodge it.
"Indri, I'm not in the mood." He looks at me and forms another snowball, throwing it at me, which I also dodge.
"Think of this as an apology, Rogue. I shouldn't have said that stuff. I'm sorry." I look at him and he grins sheepishly at me. "I didn't know anything you went through and I shouldn't have just assumed about why you did anything that you did. I'm sorry..."
"Come here, you idiot." I go down on one knee and he comes over to me. I look him over and run my hand over his hair. "You've got Gamora's skin color, Dad's hair color, and his annoying demeanor, but in a different way. You might not like me all the time, but we're still blood. We might not be family yet, but we are blood. I know I'm not Dad or 'Mora..."
"Cuz you definitely aren't," He scoffs and I lightly hit him in the head. "Shutting up."
"I know I'm not Dad or 'Mora... But, I'm gonna keep you safe, kid. Even if it kills me. And even if it means I have to give myself over to somebody I don't want to, to make sure that you stay safe. Even if it means that you think I'm a horrible person with no morals or anything good to keep you safe. Indri... You know that the Kree that we dealt with today wasn't their entire population, right?"
"Yeah. I know that there are still more of them out there. Why?"
"They aren't going to rest until I'm their slave again, I'm dead, or they've killed everyone I care about. Or all of them. You get that, right?"
"No, I don't! What about the people that didn't do anything?"
"They knew about it and didn't try to stop it. That's just as bad, if not worse."
"How is it any better than being a thief for a living?" He glares at me and I rub my face slightly.
"Indri... The Kree are a race that believes if you aren't one of them, you're beneath them and can be used as a slave, any kind of slave. Nearly every family on Hala has a slave. And the ones who don't, have been shunned by the Kree and had to flee the planet because they fought against it. Or they were killed."
"So all of them deserve to die for some idiots believing in that crap?" He yells and I sigh softly, trying to figure out a way to explain it. "How are you being any better than them by killing them?"
"Indri... Please..."
"No! How are you any better than them if you do this?"
"If I don't, they'll keep coming after you! They'll keep coming after anyone who was freed from them in the Ravagers! They'll keep coming after the people that saved them! Do you know who that includes?"
"No..."
"It includes Stakar, Aleta, Charlie, Martinex, Krugarr, Mainframe, Kraglin, and Yondu! They are going to pass on the hatred for us to their children and they will hunt us down! They will do anything to get us! I am not going to allow them to hurt anyone else I care about! Not anymore! Not anymore," I whisper and look at him, unable to hide the hurt and fear. "Please, Indri... I can't watch anyone else die... Especially when I care about them... I can't... First, it was Pops... Then Dad and 'Mora... Then... Then Jay... I... I can't, Indri... Please... Just... Just try to understand... Please..."
"OK... OK, I'll try, Rogue..."
"Thank you..." I rest my forehead against his forehead and he hugs me. I tense for a moment before hugging him back and holding him close. "I'm gonna keep you safe... I promise..."
"I know... I'm sorry about all the crap I've given you... But, Mom and Dad always said not to kill people unless there wasn't another way. Same with stealing and any of the other stuff that you do," He explains lamely and I let him go when he pulls back, looking at him.
"Yeah. Try to hold onto that sense of good, kid. But don't let it blind you or become a weakness for people to exploit. Got it?" He nods and I pat his face gently, nodding slightly as I stand. "Good. Now," I look him over and see he was wearing the Guardians uniform. "That ain't gonna fly on my ship, kid." I motion at his clothes and he looks at them then back up at me, eyebrows furrowed. "The Guardians are joining my crew so they're getting my leathers. Which means you are too," I explain shortly and shove him slightly by the head toward the porch. "Inside. I need another drink."
"You shouldn't drink too much, Rogue," He says as we go inside and I roll my eyes.
"And there's where you and Dad are too similar. I am grown and I know my limits when it comes to drinking. So mind your own damned business, yeah?" He nods a bit and I pour myself a glass of whiskey. The kitchen was fairly empty, everything cleaned up, and the only people in the room with me were Indri, Yondu, Kraglin, and Rocket. "Want some?"
"Naw." Rocket shakes his head and I set the bottle on the table, straddling a chair as I sit. Lumes comes in and sits next to Yondu. "Ya want a glass, Darlin'?" She shakes her head and I sip on my glass while Senso sits next to Kraglin, also turning down a glass.
"I thought it wasn't fun to drink alone when you're around people?" Indri looks at me and I shrug one shoulder, drinking as I think about that.
"It ain't, boy. Yer sista jus' ain't a'ight up 'ere," Yondu taps his head and I roll my eyes, not responding to that.
"Drinking alone can be boring, yeah. Sometimes, it isn't. Other times, you just don't give a damn."
"Is this one of those other times?"
"Congratulations. You've started to understand me, kid." I ruffle his hair and he rolls his eyes while I sip my drink, a small grin playing on my lips.
"Why's this one of those other times? Who would you usually drink with?" He asks and I roll my glass between my palms as I think about that.
"Hm... These two idiots, the Ogords, the other Captains in our misfit family, the other Guardians, Dad... And Jay." The room was silent and I finish my drink, pouring myself another one.
"Sorry..."
"It's cool, kid." He looked like he felt bad and I rub the back of my neck, trying to figure out a way to get rid of that look on his face. "Hey, you wanna hear about some of the stupid shit I did?" He shrugs and I take a sip from my glass, thinking quickly. "Alright... Um... Oh! Dad ever tell you about the time I stole his ship?"
"Yeah."
"OK... Hm... He ever tell you about the time I broke into-"
"Yondu's quarters? Yeah."
"Huh, OK. Um... Hm... I know I did more stupid shit than that so give me a second."
"Sure." He rolls his eyes slightly and I take a sip of my drink, tapping my finger against the glass as I watch him.
"What about his stealing?"
"Rocket told me when Mom and Dad went out for a date."
"Damn! Um... How it took them two years to get married after the stealing?" He nods and I sip from my glass, thinking. "The time I saved his ass from a Skrull?"
"He said that you just yelled at him to pay attention, but yeah."
"Still counts cuz I also blasted the Skrull before it killed him," I smirk slightly and he rolls his eyes.
"He also said that you have always been insane when it comes to fighting and killing."
"Hey, that's a good thing when it comes down to living or dying."
"And what if the person you're fighting has a family? What if you kill somebody's husband and father, or wife and mother?" He asks and I pause in taking a drink, lowering it to look at him.
"I stopped wondering about what-ifs a long time ago. If you don't, you can't move past it and you can't continue living. Morals are overrated. Everyone thinks the same way when they're in a life-or-death fight and will fight to live. If I find out that you're in a fight like that and you didn't try to survive, I'll kick your fucking ass. Got it?"
"Yeah... Got it." I hear something outside and finish my drink, setting the empty glass down as I stand up. "What are you doing?" I put a finger to my lips and stride over to the door, opening it.
"Move the others," A voice says in my head and I'm confused.
"Guys, move. Now." They look at me like I'm crazy and I glare at them. "Now," I growl and they move as I hear something charging up. Something big. "Oh boy..." I go outside and activate my visor, seeing a cloaked Skrull ship with their blaster aimed right at me as I move away from the cabin slightly. "Shit."
They fire the blaster and I throw myself over the porch railing, the porch getting destroyed. "What the Hell was that?" Martinex yells from a window on the second floor and I look at him slightly.
"Get everyone to the ships! The Avengers too! Make sure they have whatever they need but move quickly!" He looks at me in shock and doesn't move. "Now, T'Naga," I bark and he nods, quickly doing as he was told. The ship uncloaks itself and I look at it, moving to put myself between the ship and the cabin.
"Slave 22-3-16. It has been a while."
"I could meet you a lifetime from now and it would be too brief of a break from you." They look offended and I look at the door behind me slightly. "Hey, your ship seems to be having issues." They turn to look at it and I pull myself into the house again, slamming the door for a little bit of time to get some weapons while I hear blasters charging up.
"Rogue! What's happening?" Indri asks as he comes over to me and I crouch down, using my body as a shield for him.
The door explodes and I get hit by the debris, looking up to see Steve with his shield. "Indri, go to Steve and don't leave his side. Steve, keep him safe or I will kill you." He nods and they run out of the kitchen. I grab my blasters and point them at the open doorway while I go to the living room.
"Why are you still in the damned cabin?" I glare at Martinex and he points out the window where another Skrull ship was waiting. "OK... Alright... Um... I hate the Skrull too... Bunch of fucking assholes... OK..." I think and keep glancing between the front door and the door to the kitchen. "OK... Indri, you know how to fire a blaster?"
"No!"
"Oh. Well. Time to learn." I hand him the blaster and guide his hand around it quickly. "Point, breathe then fire. It's nearly impossible to miss your target. So, don't fire unless no one else is in your way. And don't drop this." I grab a shotgun from underneath the couch and load it quickly.
"What are you doing?"
"No clue. Alright... Go into the hidden room, it has a door. Open it and go through it. Don't know where it goes but it should lead somewhere that isn't here."
"What about you?" Indri looks at me and I look at him, cocking the shotgun.
"I'm gonna keep them busy."
"Shouldn't you have some help for that?"
"Probably. But I'm not going to. I'll be fine. Go." He nods a bit and they all go into the hidden room. I put the bookshelf back up and push it back in place once they're all through it, putting the butt of the shotgun on my shoulder. "Let's go, you sorry sons of bitches! Time to fucking die," I bellow and they come in, blasters pointed at me with other weapons too as I move to the center of the room. They close in on me and charge their blasters up, preparing to fire.
"Goodbye, slave 22-3-16," One says and they all fire.
I activate my boots and fly up quickly, their blaster fire hitting each other. "Well, that worked really well in my favor." I land and leave the cabin. I shoot the ships in the engine holds and fly upward quickly as they explode, leaving the cabin badly damaged. "Damn..." I land away from the ships and run toward the fleet of Ravager ships, not sure if any other Skrull ships are lurking or if more are coming.
My lungs start to burn from the cold air but I keep running and hear something through the trees, pausing to listen and catch my breath. I move silently toward it and Indri slams into my legs. "Rogue!" He hugs me and I look him over.
"Indri? Are you OK? Where's Steve and the others? Where's the blaster I gave you? Are you alright? What's wrong?" I crouch down to be eye level with him and he stabs me in the chest, eyes flashing yellow. "You bastard," I growl and scratch his face with my nails, blood coming out green on his green skin. The others burst through the trees and I see the real Indri.
"Kill him, Rogue! He stabbed Kraglin!" He yells and I throw the Skrull to the ground as it shifts to look like Keiko. I level the shotgun at their head and fire, blowing their brains out.
"Asshat," I mutter and look at Indri, who was staring at my chest.
"You gonna get that knife out of your chest?" Tony asks and I remember that the Skrull stabbed me.
"Right. Yeah." I grab the handle and yank it out of my chest quickly, gritting my teeth slightly against the pain.
"Um, that was in your heart," Bruce says awkwardly and I shrug one shoulder, going over to Indri to look him over.
"You good?"
"Yeah. You?" I give him a thumbs up and listen for a moment before nodding a tiny bit.
"Let's go. We're getting off of this planet."
"What about everyone else here? Won't the Skrulls go after them?"
"Nope. Cuz they're gonna chase after us."
"We're gonna be cloaked. How's that gonna work?"
"Very carefully, that's how. We still land the ships in that clearing?" Stakar nods and I look at Rocket. "The Milano get moved there?" He nods and I think quickly, lightly tapping the blade against my thigh. "OK... That should work... Yeah... Alright, Indri."
"Yeah?"
"You're going with the Avengers, the rest of the Guardians, and Nebula onto my ship."
"Where are you going to go?"
"You'll know that soon enough. Don't make me have to throw you on the ship, kid. Go." He looks at me and hugs me tightly.
"Be careful..." I pat his head and he looks up at me.
"Those Skrulls are the ones that should be careful. I've got this, kid. It'll take more than a few Skrull ships to make me worried." I wink at him and he smiles a bit, going with the people I told him to go with.
"You have a stupid plan, don't you?" Martinex asks and I make sure I have my weapons.
"Yup."
"You're going to distract them in the Milano so we can get away, aren't you?"
"One hundred percent."
"You know they might blow the ship up, right?"
"Well aware of that."
"And you're still going to do this stupid plan, aren't you?"
"Absolutely," I smirk at him and he wasn't ecstatic about it, neither was anyone else. "Catch you on the flip side." I wink and run onboard the Milano, locking it up behind me so no one else could get on. "Let's show these Federalists who they're up against," I mutter and power the ship up, taking off. I start up the radar and see at least twenty Skrull ships. "That's a bit more than I thought... Oh boy..." I contact the main ship and wait, patching in the Ravager ships too so they know where I'll be if it goes bad.
"What?"
"This is Captain Rogue Quill Obfonteri Udonta. If you want me, Skrull, come get me. I'll be in the Prithivi system. I'll meet you there." I cloak the ship and leave the planet, ending the transmission. "Southern mother fucking Democratic-Republicans..." I breathe slowly and set a course for that system.