Chapter 14
We land on the planet and Yondu looks at me. "Stay 'ere fer a bit," He rumbles and gets off with Segs. I stay on and get a transmission from the Milano, titled Idiots. I snort and answer it, seeing Rocket.
"Hey, Rocket. What's up?"
"Where's the blue idiot?"
"Where's the rest of your team?"
"Alright, moving on. I got a job for stealing stuff but the people we're stealing from for the job want me dead."
"Well... That sounds like an interesting plan to make."
"You wanna be part of it?"
"Wait, what?"
"The stuff we'd be stealing is worth a lot and we'd be showing pompous assholes where to shove it. What do you say, kid?"
"Does Dad know about this? Never mind... Why me?"
"They don't want you dead, you're small, and you're bound to be useful."
"Gee, thanks." I notice Yondu coming back with Segs and quickly wrap the conversation up. "Sounds good, Rocket. But it's gonna have to be after the job on Xandar." He nods and ends the transmission while I clear it from the recent transmissions, playing music to cover up why I was using the ship's systems.
"Jus' like yer Daddy," He scoffs as he turns it off and I turn to look at them. "Ya ready ta fin' formal wear, girl?"
"Let's get this over with," I sigh and stand, heading off of the ship with them. Segs leads us to a store and we follow. We go into a store and I look around, surprised because it's huge.
"What do you think, my dear?"
"There's a lot of clothes..." He chuckles while Yondu snorts and they both look at me, noticing that I've skyrocketed up in height and was wearing some of Kraglin's old leathers. "What?"
"Nothin'. Why ya wearin' Krags' old leathers?"
"Segs has been busy with other stuff and I fit into Kraglin's old leathers decently. And I keep one of my patches on me." I take it out of my pocket and show him. "See?" I put it back in my pocket and look around a bit more. "Besides, Terrans and growth sprouts go hand in hand and Kraglin gave me these to wear the other day cuz he remembered Quill growing when he was my age." I shrug one shoulder and follow Segs to an area for Yondu first.
"Damn. This one looks dope," I murmur to myself at a black tux and look at the price. "And never mind." I look at the other two and just put my hands in my pockets while they get Yondu measured.
"Think of the type of dress you'd like, my dear," Segs smiles and continues to measure Yondu.
"Y'know, I'd look way cooler in a tux. And I'd be able to hide weapons better," I try and Segs give me an unamused look.
"That is not happening."
"Worth a shot," I sigh as I shrug and look in the large mirror they were standing in front of, thinking. "Where are the dresses?" Segs points toward them and I nod. "I'll head that way. I've got all of my weapons, Captain," I say when Yondu opens his mouth to say something and he narrows his eyes at me in the mirror. "I'll be fine."
"Ya betta. Git."
"Aye, Captain." I go over to the dresses and look around absently, sighing softly. "OK... Um... How would Kat decide what dress to wear? Cost... Color... Style... Length... And how it looks on you... I think..." I look around a bit and see an attendant. "Hey, excuse me," I say carefully and she looks at me. "Would you be able to help me out here?" She looks at my leathers and runs off. "Well, that was rude..." I let out a huff of breath and look at the dresses on the robots, trying to find one that I like.
The other two find me sitting on a bench with my arms crossed while my head was hung slightly and I look up when I hear their footsteps. "Any luck my dear?"
"Nope," I pop the 'p' and he looks at me. "I asked an attendant and she fucking bolted after seeing my leathers. Rude as Hell." Yondu snorts and I stand, stretching. "Guess I can't go. That's too bad. Oh well. Let's go." I try to leave and get choked when Yondu grabs my collar, stopping me.
"Naw, yer gittin' a dress. Don'cha worry none."
"Yay!" I cheer sarcastically and he snickers as he pushes me toward Segs.
"Let us find you a dress, darling." He looks at me and motions for me to spin. "Do a spin."
"Do I have to?" He nods and I do a small spin, rolling my eyes as I do. "Tah-dah!" He chuckles and thinks.
"What colors do you like, my dear?"
"Seriously?" He nods and I think. "OK... Whatever this color is," I motion to the leathers and Segs nods. "Black and... Blue. For some sentimental reason or something. I don't know." I shrug one shoulder and Segs nods, going toward some dresses with me following.
"Would you turn around?" He asks a robot in a floor-length dress that resembled the color of my leathers and the robot turns, showing that the dress would fit well to the person's body type. I look it over and it was nice. "How about this one, my dear?"
"Sure. Can we leave now?"
"You have to try it on." He gets one in my size and hands it to me. "Go on." He pushes me toward the changing rooms and I let out a huff of breath, shutting the door to change into it. I change into it and look at myself in the mirror, swallowing slightly when I see some pale scars on my shoulders. I let my hair down from its ponytail and it covers them.
"If I got to do this, I don't want Captain to see until I have to wear it," I call and hear Yondu scoff.
"Fine." He leaves and I wait a few moments before leaving the changing room.
"Lovely!" Segs smiles and I smile a bit back. "Now, you need an outfit for Quill's wedding!"
"No!" He pauses and looks at me, shocked. "I mean, no. I'm going to wear my leathers. He'll be seeing me in this in a couple of solar cycles and he'll be dealing with seeing me in leathers on his wedding day. Alright?" He nods and I get changed back into my leathers.
We walk back to the ship with my dress, some shoes, a shawl, and Yondu's suit and strap in before Yondu pilots back to the Eclector. "How much time do we have before Quill's wedding, Captain?" Segs asks and Yondu looks at the time.
"One and a half hours," I supply and Yondu glances at me. "He keeps sending me messages every thirty minutes. I'm going to confiscate his wrist com. Gods, he's annoying the Hell out of me." I get another message and look at it. "That idiot isn't going to live to make it to be married because he just sent me another message telling me to make sure I shower." Yondu lets out a bark of laughter and Segs looks surprised.
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Later, I get out of the shower and wring my hair out after getting dressed in pants, a bra, and a tank top. My door opens and I turn my head to see Kraglin waiting outside the door to my bathroom. "Yes, Kraglin?"
"Wha's with yer wrists?" I look at them and shrug, seeing some scars.
"No clue. What you want?"
"Yer Daddy's gittin' stupid 'bout ya. Says yer takin' fer ever." I roll my eyes and finish wringing my hair out, flipping it over my head to rest on my back as I straighten up. He tosses me the long sleeve shirt and I pull it on before pulling on the duster he tosses me. "Ya ready?"
"Almost. Got to brush this shit." I flip my hair out of my clothes and quickly tug my brush through it, yanking at knots.
"Damn, tha's pain," He scoffs and I shrug one shoulder, finishing up with the brushing of it.
"Thoughts on what to do with it?"
"Wha'cha mean?"
"Put it up, leave it down, chop it off?" He looks at me and I pull a hair tie onto my wrist, waiting for a response.
"Up." I nod and pull it into a ponytail easily as we leave. "Ya got yer weapons?" I nod and he looks me over to ensure I do. "Good." He pats my shoulder and leads me off of the ship since we were docked on the planet they were getting married on.
"This is about to be boring as Hell... Gamora forbids any stealing today... Or killing..." I finish my hair and pull it to be tight, rolling my eyes slightly. "At least you guys can drink to make it less dull." He pats my shoulder and directs me to sit next to Yondu, Rocket behind me, while Dad pulls Kraglin to stand next to him and Mantis was waiting across from Kraglin, smiling.
"Wow, you showed up just before Gamora's supposed to. Congrats," Rocket snarks and I roll my eyes, turning to look at him. "What took you so long?"
"I may wake up looking amazing, but Quill messaged me to make sure I took a shower and that I washed my hair." He snorts at that and looks at my hair. "It's thick and difficult to dry. And when it does dry, there are knots and I have to brush it. It's annoying."
"Then cut it."
"I will. After that job." He nods and I turn back around, waiting with feigned patience for the wedding to get on with it.
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When the vows part of the wedding is over, the dancing part starts and the first dance is for Dad and Gamora. I use this to my advantage and threaten the DJ to let me sing a song. He lets me and I sing Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang for their dance. Gamora says something to him and he smiles, kissing her gently. When he pulls away, he points at the DJ before pointing at me as I come from behind the DJ booth and I look at him. "Get over here!"
"Why?!" Kraglin shoves me over and I glare at him before looking back at Dad, Smooth Criminal playing. "No!"
"Yes! Dance-off! I got this song, you choose yours! Easy!"
"No, I'm not doing a dance-off with you!"
"Would you do it with Jay?" He crosses his arms and I think for a moment before shrugging. "Fine! If Jay beats me, he does one with you. If not, you have to do one with me! Deal?" I glance at Jay and he shrugs.
"Nah! I don't feel like dancing right now!" He mutters something and I barely hear it, going over to him because I thought he said something about the Skrull and my grandparents. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
"No, you said something. What was it?"
"Nothing, Rogue. Lighten up." He chuckles nervously and I cross my arms, glaring at him.
"Spill. Now." He repeats what he said softly so only I could hear and I tense slightly. He says something else and I just nod slightly. "I'm going back to the ship. Enjoy your whatever this is now," I say simply and leave to go back to the Eclector, walking calmly.
I sit on my bunk in my quarters and lean against the wall, holding my Walkman in my hands before slipping the headphones on. I get off of my bed and go to the gym, clipping my Walkman to my waistband. The rest of the crew is at the wedding and I decide that now's a good 'a time as any to practice hand to hand combat with a punching bag after peeling off my duster and long sleeve shirt so that I don't get too hot. I do everything Kraglin's taught me to do when working with a punching bag and make sure to avoid the kickback after I hit it, ducking away like I would if I were getting swung at.
I catch the bag to catch my breath and Dad's words repeat in my head.
"Your grandparents sold you to the Skrull for some of their alcohol. And your sister died in Kraglin's arms while Dad tried to save her after they promised to watch out for you, keep you safe, make sure you didn't see her like that and that you didn't find out what your grandparents did. Dad and Krags told me about it that night you broke into his quarters to steal the machine for cleaning the vents." That gives me a new wind since it pisses me off and I go back to what I was doing, music blaring through my headphones.
When I reach the end of the tape, I catch the punching bag and shove my headphones around my neck, grabbing my shirt and duster as I leave. The ship's still empty and I head to controls, thinking. I hack into the lock on Yondu's quarters and go in, deciding to chill in there as I toss my Walkman and headphones on the bar with my duster and shirt. I plop on the couch and work on my lessons, waiting for Yondu to get an alert that someone broke into his quarters.
Yondu's arrow flies for my face and I catch it as Yondu and Kraglin walk in. "Hello, boys," I smirk at them and hold Yondu's arrow in my open hand. "You want this back or should I hold onto it?" He whistles and catches it in his hand by his head, putting it in its holster while Kraglin crosses his arms, looking at me. I take my hair down and slip the hair tie on my wrist, running my fingers through my hair a bit.
"Wha'cha doin' in m'quarters, girl?" Yondu growls and I cross my leg so my ankle's resting on my knee while leaning back with my arms crossed over my chest.
"What happened to the crate of liquor?" They both look confused and look at each other before looking at me again. "Let me make it simpler... What happened to the crate of liquor my grandparents sold me to the Skrull for? Did it break when they were taken care of? Did they blow up in the fire? Did you steal it because it was good liquor? What happened to it?"
"Wha'cha talkin' 'bout, kid? Yer shitty family ain't sell ya ta the Skrull for liquor," Kraglin scoffs and I look at him.
"You may look stupid, but I know better, so don't pull that bullshit with me." He looks offended and shocked and I look between them. "Quill told me. He said that you two had finished telling him about it when you found out I was in here that night I took that machine out of here to try to finish cleaning the vents." They rub the back of their necks and I sit up, putting both feet on the floor.
"I don't give a damn about my shitty grandparents. I just want to know about my sister. The liquor was just a good way to bring it up. How'd she die?"
"One 'a 'em grabbed yer granddaddy's gun an' shot 'er in 'er chest," Yondu tells me and I nod, folding my hands in my lap as I think.
"Was she in pain? And did you guys seriously try to save her?"
"Yeah, Ah did. An' naw. She jus'... Went ta sleep, girl," He says carefully and I nod again, resting my elbows on my knees so I can rest my forehead against my folded hands.
"She made you guys promise to watch out for me, keep me safe, to not let me see her like that, and that you wouldn't tell me about what they did, right?"
"Yeah, kid, she did... She cared 'bout ya... Prolly the only person on Terra tha' did, huh?" I scoff slightly and rub my face slightly after unfolding my hands.
"After our Mom died? Yeah, she was. Everyone else that knew me, hated me for something I had no control over." I shrug one shoulder and let out a huff of breath while Yondu gets drinks.
"Wanna tell us 'bout 'er?" Kraglin asks as he sits across from me and Yondu throws my clothes at me.
"Git yer clothes on!" I pull them on and pull my hair from under it, thinking.
"You wanna hear about her?" He shrugs and Yondu comes over with three generously filled glasses. Why three? He hands one to Kraglin then holds another out to me and I take it. "What are you trying to poison me with?" I scoff and he rolls his eyes, sitting in his preferred chair.
"Tha' helps with tellin' stories tha' hurt," He smirks and I raise an eyebrow slightly while he takes a large gulp with Kraglin. "Try some." He nods toward it and smirks.
"Fuck it. Cheers." I barely raise it before taking a swig of it and close my eyes as it burns my throat, clearing my throat slightly. "Damn, that burned on the way down. Tasted good though," I scoff and just rest my hand on my leg while they snicker at me. "Hey, screw you two."
"Ya gonna tell us 'bout yer sister or jus' sit 'ere an' annoy us with yer presence?" Kraglin smirks at me and I roll my eyes, thinking about Kat.
"OK... Let's see... She was seventeen, in either eleventh or twelfth grade, the last two grades of high school before you have the option to go to college," I explain when they look confused and they nod slightly.
"She had an after-school job to be able to buy me anything I needed, like clothes, shoes, food, school supplies, and my medicine. She'd either have me go to her school once I was let out of mine or she'd pick me up after she was let out then she'd take me with her to her job. She kinda became my Mom when ours died..."
"She ain't never have a problem doin' all 'a tha'?"
"Going to school full time and working most of the night to get paid five dollars an hour, which was less than minimum wage in our state? There were a lot of problems, but she covered them up and didn't tell me about them. I helped with what I could, mainly her homework. She made sure I was book smart and when kids or our grandparents would beat me up, she made sure I got cleaned up. She was going to graduate high school and move us out of that state, taking us somewhere that she could learn to be a doctor. She wasn't a fan of stealing and would get pissed when I would steal from people but accepted what I'd give her after I did. Mainly because it was mostly money and it helped her with buying stuff and sometimes food, meaning she didn't have to buy that. If she had a grave, she'd be turning in it right now..." I smirk a bit and take a drink from my glass.
"Ya can go with yer Daddy if ya wanna. We ain't gonna keep ya 'ere," Yondu says shortly and I scoff, looking at him.
"So far, anything I've tried to do has ended with me almost dying or almost killing someone else. I'm good at being a Ravager. You ain't getting rid of me that easily, Gramps." I finish the drink and stand, setting the empty glass on the bar as I grab my Walkman before I turn to look at them. "I'm good at stealing shit and my sister may not have approved of it if she were still here, but she isn't. Even if she were still here, I wouldn't stop being a Ravager because I'm good at it, it's what I want to do with my life, and it's in my blood. Even if Dad's a shit Ravager. I'm going to bed, it's going toward 2300. Have fun, Captain, Kraglin." I nod slightly and leave, going to my quarters. I flop down on my bunk and fall asleep nearly instantly.
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I wake at 0700 and run my fingers through my hair as I head to mess. The entire crew was there with Dad and his group and I get my food, going to sit across from my idiotic family. "'Sup, kid," Rocket smirks at me and I raise my hand slightly in greeting, pulling my hair into a ponytail. "You're usually up early. You and Quill switched roles today, huh?"
"Screw you, Rat," I scoff, rolling my eyes, and he snickers while I start to eat.
"So, who's making the plan for the job?"
"Which one?" I ask without thinking and he looks at me with momentarily wide eyes before I realize what I said. "What? I've been with Nudran so I've been looking over missions to find good ones and make plans for them. The one on Xandar with the boring party as cover, right?" Yondu nods and looks between me and Rocket.
"Wha's goin' on 'tween the two 'a yas?" Kraglin asks and I eat, hungry.
"Nothing. Kid's just an idiot." I glare at Rocket and he smirks at me. "Just like Quill."
"Ya got a plan fer this, Rat?"
"Nah, not yet."
"The invitation was for all of us, Groot too," Dad says and I take a drink of the caffeinated drink Cookie gave me, feeling myself wake more. I think about the plan for the job, my eyes flitting from each person at the table in thought then to other spots, and absentmindedly tap my utensil against my tray.
"Ya gotta do tha'?" Yondu raises an eyebrow at me and I stop, setting it down.
"My bad." I finish my drink and set the cup on the tray, folding my hands while I put my elbows on the table. "We got the layout of the place?" Rocket taps a few things and my wrist com buzzes from under my sleeves. I roll them up a bit and transfer the layout onto an empty holopad, which I grabbed from Yondu's room last night as I left. I look at it and follow a vent to the roof, thinking.
"What is with you and vents?" Rocket snorts from next to me and I simply flip him off while continuing to map out a plan for the job. Groot was watching me from where he was standing on the table and I grab him, moving him to my shoulder.
"You're getting leaves in my food," I say simply and he sits on my shoulder, watching me pick leaves out of my food while still mapping out a plan.
"Wha'cha thinkin', kid?"
"Groot in the vents that lead to the roof, you on the roof, give Groot the artifact, Groot takes the artifact to you, we stay to save face, and find a buyer immediately following leaving the party."
"And if Groot gets found in the vents?"
"He can only talk to you guys because you're the only ones that understand his 'I am Groot' bullshit. Tell them he was playing hide and seek with me. Terran game," I say simply and look at Groot. "So, squirt, what do you say about helping us steal shit?" I smile charmingly at him and he smiles back.
"I am Groot!"
"For you to smile at him, anything. That is sweet, Groot," Gamora says and smiles at me.
"When do I start understanding the Bonsai tree?"
"What the Hell is a bonsai tree?"
"That tree Mr. Miyagi is always cutting at in the Karate Kid, idiot," I tell Dad simply and he nods slightly, drinking from his mug.
"Want to elaborate on your plan some more than just short sentences?" He raises an eyebrow at me and I pop a piece of what looks like fruit into my mouth, smirking at him.
"Have to have some mystery about me, don't I?" He looks unamused and I give him a grin that copies Yondu's knife smirk. "We need to keep the plan between the people in on it to reduce the risk of the Nova Corps finding out."
"Captain's quarters?" Dad suggests and I barely shake my head. "Where then?" I close my fist then put my finger to my lips to tell him to shut up and he does, raising an eyebrow at me. I make a very small circle with my utensil as I pick it up and he carefully looks around, noticing a few crewmates watching us. "Ah... OK..."
"Mhmm..." I say barely audibly and look at Yondu and Kraglin. "We still docked planetside?"
"Gives the crew time ta rest after tha' party," Kraglin explains quietly and I barely nod. "Why, wha'cha thinkin'?"
"I have some units stockpiled. I'm gonna go planetside and buy some stuff." I finish my food and deal with my tray. "If you guys show up, my treat for lunch," I smirk and leave mess, going to my quarters to get my stockpile of units.
"What you gonna buy planetside, kid?" I turn and see Cron leaning in my doorway. "And how do you have a stockpile of units? You think you're better than us because you're the Captain and First Mate's pet?" He sneers and I put the pouch in a hidden pocket, zipping it up.
"Get away from my doorway before I make you." He steps into my quarters and I level my new blaster at him. "Get the fuck out of my quarters or you're gonna be dead before you hit the ground," I snarl and he scoffs, stepping out when I press my blaster to his chest. I keep it there until he's pressed against the wall across from my quarters and lower it, punching him in the face hard. He falls to the floor and I put my blaster back, walking away.
"Come back here, you little bitch!" I flip him off as I walk and get off of the ship, tapping a few things on my wrist com to see where the others were. They were all grouped near a stage and I head toward it, glancing around often.
"Took you long enough," Rocket scoffs and I roll my eyes, noticing whatever the authority people were called watching us. "What now?"
"The security or whatever the cops are called here have people watching us."
"Defense Officers," Dad supplies and Kraglin carefully looks around to see that I was right.
"They ain't bein' subtle 'bout watchin' us," He scoffs and I barely nod, thinking.
"How we gonna distract them enough that they don't notice us slipping away?" I look around at the others and they look at me. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Get on that stage and do one of your songs or something. Figure it out. You got this," Dad says as he pats my shoulder and I look at him then the Defense Officers to see them closing in a bit. "Now would be a great time to do it," He chuckles nervously and I sigh.
"Fine. And if this is just a way to hear me sing, I'm gonna shoot you."
"Promises, promises," He smirks and I go toward some of the Defense Officers. They look at me and follow me as I go toward the stage, getting on it. The others slip away since all of the Defense Officers were following me and I let out a huff of breath.
"Hello, people of Ivomia! I have no clue what you guys have going on right now but I have a song or two that has a very powerful message! You guys like music with meaning, right?" They cheer and I notice the others hiding in the shadows. "Then you're going to love these songs!" I tap a few things on a holopad and the audio of one of the songs pops up for me to play. "Ready?" They cheer again and I press play, taking a slow breath.