Chapter 12
I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth to gather the blood there and look at Voluptuous, chest heaving as I pant. He claps and releases the kids, pressing a button to open the box my arrow was in. "Go along. You were always going to be slaves. Children of a slave could never be anything more than a slave. Or a thief," He grins coldly at me and I go over to him, stopping when he points a blaster at me. "You know that I can use this well, Feral. Do not tempt me to do so. I will be taking my leave now." He starts to leave only to get captured in Peter's webs and I smirk.
"That wasn't part of our deal, Voluptuous. And I made a promise to the Kree empire as a whole. That you would all pay for killing Jay." I go over to him and pick the blaster up, pointing it at him. "Say hi to your sons for me," I smirk and blast his head off. I whistle my arrow back into its holster and look at the kids still against the wall. "Um... You guys OK?" They nod and I nod a bit back. "Cool, cool... Um... Do you want to come with me, find a Kree that doesn't condone slavery, or be dropped off at an orphanage?"
"There aren't anymore Kree that don't condone slavery. They were all killed publically after Tressit's murder was found to be linked to his location being leaked to them," The oldest girl says as she points to the others and I nod a bit.
"OK... Um... Then I guess your options are me or an orphanage?"
"The orphanages near here would sell us to the Skrull," The oldest boy says and I rub the back of my neck slightly.
"Guess you're stuck with me then, huh?"
"We would be stuck with you no matter where we went. Children of a Kree battle slave."
"No. Children of a Ravager Captain. Got it?" They all nod and I look at them. "You got names?" They shake their heads and I sigh softly, rubbing my face slightly. "We'll worry about that in a bit, I guess... Come on." I motion for them to walk and the oldest two pick up the youngest two, walking toward the others with me following behind them. "Tex, Jaz."
"Yes, Cap'n?"
"Help the big guy out and treat any injuries." The big guy stands up and was about the same size as the two of them.
"You alright, big guy?" He nods and Jaz nods a bit.
"He can't talk. Voluptuous made sure of it. What happened to the others that were unconscious in that mediocre fighting ring?"
"They've been taken to Med, Cap'n," Jaz explains and I nod.
"Good." I go over to the others and look over the kids slightly.
"You have sixteen kids?"
"Not now, Peter." He nods a bit and I pull my jacket on after taking it from Mantis, ignoring the pain radiating across my entire body for the time being. I board my ship with the kids, Avengers, and my crew, Guardians included, while I tuck my gloves into my pocket and put my wrist com back on.
"Rogue," I turn to look at Stakar. "Meeting planet. We all need to talk about this. You, Indri, and those kids." I nod and the Lead Nav sets a course for the planet while I OK something with Nebula. Indri runs out of my quarters and I smile a bit when he hugs me.
"Are you OK? Are you done having to kill people? Did you win? Who are those kids?"
"I'm fine. I won. Hopefully done having to kill people today. That last question will be answered once we land planetside."
"OK..." I pat his head gently and we go through a few jumps to get to the meeting planet. "Morgan and I didn't break anything." I chuckle and ruffle his hair gently while we land planetside.
"Alright. Indri, you guys, come on." I lead them planetside and lean against the building while we wait for Stakar and the other Captains in my dysfunctional family. The rest of the Guardians are waiting with us.
They land and I stand straight, just feeling exhausted after the fights. They disembark, with Lumes and Senso, and Stakar opens the door. "Inside." The kids go in and I follow to make sure they don't get lost, even though I want nothing more than to meet the bottom of a bottle of whiskey. Or three then collapse into my bunk to sleep. I lead them to the Captains meeting room and Stakar stops them.
"You kids wait out here." They all sit in the First Mates chairs and Martinex opens the door to the other room. "You can go in, though."
"Yay," I mutter under my breath and go in, collapsing in my usual chair. "Any chance I can vote for the version of this that doesn't involve yelling?"
"Yes."
"Then I do that."
"It has been denied and ignored," Aleta says simply and I rub my face.
"Of course it has. What is this about exactly?"
"Why do you have sixteen kids?"
"I had eight sets of twins."
"How?"
"The Kree collected... Samples from Jay last time they had him. And they used those samples on me so that I gave birth to kids."
"You've never had a successful pregnancy before."
"Yeah, imagine my shock. Especially today. I thought they were all dead. Nope... Great..." I rub my face and could not deal with this right now, not in the right mental or emotional frame of mind. No one says anything and I breathe deeply for a few moments before sliding my hands down my face, immensely frustrated.
"What happened exactly?"
"I don't know. The doctor they use for the slaves came in and I blocked everything after that out. Next thing I knew, Voluptuous was taking away a pair of infants. A boy and a girl. Then, the doctor was back to fix me up after a fight and the process repeated. After the eighth time, Tressit had me just fight and fixed me up himself, knowing that Voluptuous would have the doctor do whatever they did again."
"How did they manage to make all of them twins?"
"I don't know. How did they manage to put that spyware in my skull?" Lumes nods slightly and I run my tongue over my teeth slightly. "Look, I have no clue how they managed to get eight sets of twins out of me or how they managed to make sure they were successful. The past seven annual cycles are a bit of a blur beside the beginning, the end, and how many fights I had. Which was too damned many. So, forgive me if I seem highly disinterested in this conversation. It's because I am and the fact that I want to meet the bottom of a bottle of whiskey, or ten, then collapse into my bunk to sleep for a lunar cycle."
"You can't do that, though," Charlie points out and I lean back in my chair slightly, resting my ankle on my knee.
"Ya don't say?" I raise an eyebrow at him and he rolls his eyes slightly. "I can at least meet the bottom of a bottle, Charlie. After I name sixteen kids. Lovely..." I roll my shoulder slightly because it's still slightly sore and the others sit while Martinex waits by the door, looking at me. "Is this the end of the conversation?" Stakar nods and Martinex opens the door, letting the kids in.
"It's possible for someone to get pregnant back to back for six years?" Indri asks as soon as he comes in and I shrug one shoulder.
"Must be. Sit down." Indri sits next to me and the other kids hang out by the door. "I ain't gonna bite, so sit down." The oldest two pick up the youngest two and the others sit down, the oldest two standing behind them. "You can put them in a chair and stand or sit with them in your laps." They go with the first option and I look at them, seeing Jay in all of their faces.
"Why don't you have any hair?" The two that look about three ask me and Yondu and he scoffs.
"Cuz Ah ain't neva 'ad any."
"Oh. Why?"
"Cuz tha's the way it went."
"Why?"
"Tha' all ya know 'ow ta say?"
"No. Why don't you?" They look at me and I cross my arms slightly, leaning back in my chair again.
"Cuz I had it made so that it didn't grow anymore."
"Is it because of that thing on your head?"
"Partially."
"Why do you have it?"
"So I can do stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Stuff with an arrow."
"Like what?" I just whistle to show them and they look at my arrow in awe. "Cool!" I whistle it back into my holster and Indri was watching me.
"Where did these kids come from, Rogue?"
"Well, when a man and a woman-"
"I know about that stuff already! Whose kids are they?"
"A man and a woman's."
"But who are the man and woman?"
"People that you know. Look at them closely, kid. You'll figure it out." He glares at me but does look at the oldest two for a little bit before his eyes go wide and he looks at me.
"They kinda look like Jay!"
"Yup."
"And their hair looks like yours in Yondu's pictures!"
"If you say so, kid."
"So... They're your and Jay's kids? How?"
"The Kree like to experiment on people. They got... Samples from Jay and used them on me to get the kids."
"Do they have names?"
"Why don't you ask them, dude? Gods..."
"Do you guys have names?"
"No. She said that she'd worry about that later."
"Now is later," The oldest boy points out and I nod a bit.
"That is an excellent observation. Got any ideas on that?"
"Isn't that the parent's job to name their kids?" The oldest girl snarks and I can feel my temper rising. "Where even is our father? He's bound to be a better parent than you are. Or have been. What type of mother lets her children be taken like that?"
I slam my hands on the table as I stand and she jumps backward while everyone else jumps slightly too, my chair had been flung toward the wall when I stood. "I had no choice on them taking you. They made sure I couldn't fight back. So, before you start talking shit about me, know what the fuck you're talking about! Got it?" I bark and she nods quickly. "Good. Now, names." I look at them all and they look back at me.
"OK." I look at the others and look at Indri, crouching to talk to him.
"It OK if I name two of them after Dad and Gamora?" He looks at me and nods. I ruffle his hair gently and look at the oldest set of twins, which are a boy and girl. "Peter, or Petey, and Gamora." Peter smiles a bit and Gamora just rolls her eyes while I move onto the next set of twins, the second set which is boys. "Jay and Jason." They smile and I onto the third set of twins, which are girls. "Raziah and Keiko."
The fourth set of twins, both boys, are bouncing a bit and I look at them, getting certain vibes from them. "This is gonna be funny," I whisper to Indri and he looks confused. "You two. Yondu and Kraglin."
"Wha'?" They bellow and Indri laughs softly while I smile. I look at Senso and Lumes and they look back at me, a little confused.
"I've got four more girls to name. It OK if I name two of them after you guys?" They look shocked but nod and I give them a thumbs-up, looking at the next set of girl twins. "Senso and Lumes." I look at the sixth set of twins, two boys, and think a bit. "Um... Charlie and... Kruthin." Krugarr looks happy, even though I didn't name the second one after him fully, and I quirk the corner of my mouth up in a smile.
"The name means 'Starry Sky'. It is a nice touch." I nod a bit and he smiles in his way, giving off happy vibes in my head.
"Mainframe, thoughts on a name for a girl?"
"Maiko. It goes with the name Keiko." I nod a bit and look at the seventh set of twins, both girls.
"Maiko and Solstice."
"And the babies?" Gamora asks and I look at the kids then glance at Aleta. Aleta barely nods and I quirk the corner of my mouth up in a smile,
"Stark and Leta."
"And what's our last name?"
"Fletch."
"And what's your name?"
"It's a long one."
"What is it?"
"Captain, Mom, or Mother to you," I smirk and she glares at me.
"Her name's Rogue Quill Obfonteri Udonta Fletch," Indri says and I look at him, raising an eyebrow slightly at the Fletch on the end. "He sent me the video he sent you too... Figured it should get added now."
"Is this a kid that you decided to keep?" Gamora sneers at us and Indri kinda hides behind my legs.
"No. He's my brother. And your uncle. So, watch it." She rolls her eyes and I take a deep breath to keep calm. "His name's Indri."
"Indri Quill," He adds.
"Indri Quill. He's gonna be being raised alongside you guys."
"Can't his parents raise him?" Indri grabs my arm and I wrap it around his shoulders slightly to pull him to my side.
"Y'know, they would-"
"Why aren't they then?"
"Hard to do that when they're dead. The Kree killed them too. They killed your father, who was my husband. They killed his parents, who were my Dad and might as well have been my Mother too. So, if you want to keep talking shit about them, go ahead. We'll just see how well Gramps' methods work on you," I growl and she shuts up. "You're named after his mother. Don't screw it up."
"Where are we going to sleep?" Peter asks and I look at him.
"We're gonna figure that out. You'll have to share a room with two of your siblings until you get older. The same goes for you, Gamora."
"OK. Boys with boys and girls with girls?" I nod and he nods his understanding. "I can group us up if that'll help."
"Go for it. The youngest two will be with me, so no need to worry about that."
"OK. What about Indri?"
"He's gonna have to share a room too." Indri doesn't argue and he nods a bit while I look at the kids, thinking a bit. "Anything else from you guys?"
"Get them leathers and explain the Code," Stakar says simply and I nod. "Indri too."
"Since we're here, might as well get the meeting done," Aleta says and Stakar nods his agreement, messaging all of the Captains to get to the meeting planet. "Take the kids to get their leathers started and come back with Nebula, Rogue."
"You got it, Aleta." Indri stands while Peter and Gamora pick up Stark and Leta and Indri leads them out while I follow.