Chapter 21
I dry my hair with a towel as I head out of my bathroom, noticing Yondu and Kraglin had broken in, and I continue drying it since it had grown quickly during my stay in Med. "I've seriously been in Med for a lunar cycle and a half?"
"Yep."
"Huh." I wring my hair out in the towel and toss it over the back of my chair to dry, grabbing my brush.
"Need 'elp?"
"Nah." I yank through my hair easily and get rid of the knots before running my fingers through it. "Well, that's done." I toss the hair from the brush down the garbage chute and toss the brush onto my desk, running my fingers through my hair to get it ready to be put into a ponytail.
"Wha'cha doin' now?"
"Making sure it doesn't get in my face." I put it up in a ponytail and nod slightly, pulling my duster back on. "Hey, where's my Walkman?"
"Yer Daddy an' the Rat are tryin' ta fix it."
"Why does it need fixing?" They shrug and I don't respond for a moment, staring at them. "OK... Where do you want me now?"
"Wha'cha mean?"
"Well, I was with Segs and I got most of the stuff down. Who am I with now?"
"Tech an' Engineer."
"Cool." I leave my quarters and go to find the Leads of the teams since they worked closely together to make things work more smoothly. They always seem to come up with awesome stuff and I'm hyped to be a part of them for a bit. They're working on a higher level of the hangar and I go over. "Hey."
"What do you want?"
"Captain says I'm with you guys." The Leads(Luth and Vaer) look at each other, worried, and I wait.
"Um, alright... Here, go through these lessons... Uh... Sit over there and don't touch anything..." I take the lessons and sit where the directed, near the edge of the level.
"I can do that." I lean against the railing and work on the lessons, enjoying them.
About an hour and a half later, I stand and look over the lessons to make sure I finished them up properly. I start to turn around when someone grabs my ankles and shoves me over the railing.
"Rogue," Dad yells and I think for a moment or two before activating my boots, righting myself quickly so I don't do a nose dive into the hangar floor. I don't stick the landing, though, and roll right into people's legs, knocking them down with me as I deactivate my boots while Dad runs over. "You alright?" He looks me over a bit and I shove him away.
"I'm fine, damnit!" The people I knocked down were Gamora, Drax, Mantis, Yondu, and Kraglin while the Ogords and Martinex had moved out of the way. I stand and try to help Mantis up with my left hand but my shoulder gives a sudden burst of pain, my hand releasing hers. She yelps and I catch her hand with my right one, pulling her up easily.
"Yeah, right! What the Hell's wrong with your shoulder?"
"Will you stop the fucking screaming you damned banshee? Jesus fucking Christ," I mutter and feel my shoulder slightly. "It got dislocated. It's an easy fix."
"How?" I press the heel of my palm to the front of it before slamming it into the front of my shoulder and it goes back into place with a loud pop.
"Like that."
"Well then..." He wasn't sure how to respond and shakes his head slightly. "Why the Hell were you falling off of the second-highest level in the hangar?"
"Because someone grabbed my ankles and threw me over the railing."
"Who?"
"If I knew that, wouldn't I have said who it was instead of someone?"
"You wanna drop the attitude and sass?"
"You wanna drop the stupidity and dumbass?" Someone snorts and I ignore them, looking at Dad.
"Forget it. We're gonna leave now that you're out of Med and in the clear."
"Alright. Bye." He looks pissed but leaves with his team and I look up at the level I was on, seeing someone standing by the railing with a proud smirk. "Excuse me," I say to the Captains and First Mates, carefully grabbing a wrench from a crate, and back up, keeping a careful eye on the person as I use trajectory to guess how hard I have to throw the wrench to hit them.
"What in the Hell are you doing?"
"Thinking." I notice some crates next to a ship and climb onto them easily despite my shoulder still being a little sore.
"Girl, the Hell ya think yer doin'?"
"Hang on and you'll see." I climb another crate and was a better distance away, thinking before I climb onto the ship. "This should be good."
"For what?" I chuck the wrench at the person and beam them in the chest, making them stumble slightly as they catch the wrench. "What the Hell, Rogue?"
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, runt?" The Xandarian woman yells and I look at her.
"You shoved me over the railing."
"You got proof of that?"
"Of course I do." I look around a bit and walk over to another ship, swinging myself up onto the wing.
"What the Hell are you doing now?"
"Wishing I had my Walkman." My feet slip slightly but I catch myself, chill as long as I don't look down, and continue toward them.
"You're fucking insane! You are going to fall and kill yourself for me!"
"Nah. I've got impeccable balance." I swing around on a pole to vault myself to the next ship and land in a crouch, keeping my eyes on her, having to look down slightly now. "Your name's Vola, right?"
"Yes... Why?"
"Wanted to make sure." I get nearly close enough to make it if I jump and carefully walk on a wing of a ship to get closer, balancing easily. "There. Should be able to make it from here."
"Make what?" I back up a few steps and Vola is confused. I run and jump onto the level, going into a roll before sliding to a stop in a crouch.
"Make that jump. That was fucking smooth." I grab a rope and test the strength in it, nodding a bit.
"What's that for?" I tie one end to the railing and toss it over, seeing that it went down to one of the lowest ones before the hangar floor then I pull it back up. "What are you doing?" I ignore her and think for a moment before nodding. "Hello?" She waves a hand in front of my face and I tie the other end of the rope around her waist tightly. "What-"
"Have a nice bungee jumping experience."
"Huh?" I shove her over the railing and watch as she falls like a sack of potatoes, moving quickly. She comes to a sudden stop and her panting was loud in the silent hangar.
"Let's see..." I undo the knots I had done along the entire rope by undoing the top one and she falls to the floor. I pull gloves out of my pocket and pull them on before sliding down the rope to land next to her as she gets to her feet.
"You're fucking insane..." She backs away quickly and I shrug one shoulder, letting go of the rope after someone tugs on it to put it back. She leaves and I take the gloves off, putting them back in my pocket.
"What the Hell is wrong with you?" Stakar growls as he gathers my duster in his hands and I look at him.
"At least I gave her a rope. I could've just shoved her over the railing with no type of safety since she doesn't have boots like these."
"What you just did goes against the Code! You settle this shit planetside!"
"What I did was a retaliation against someone breaking that part of the Code. Not my fault she didn't have the balls to do it again in front of you guys. Now is it?" He doesn't know how to respond and loosens his grip on my duster. "Good talk... I'm gonna leave now..." I leave and people get out of my way easily enough.
I thought that I'd love it when people moved out of my way as they do for the others... But this isn't for the same reasons... They're scared of the others but also respect them... They're just plain scared of me now... Shit... I walk out of the hangar and just go to the other side of the ship, ignoring when people look at me. I go into the gym and over to a punching bag, vaguely noticing that people move away from me before just leaving the gym. I strip my top half until I'm in my tank top, tying the rest around my waist, and start to attack the punching bag, pissed off at myself.
Voices start to echo in my head and just fuel my anger at myself as I attack the punching bag with more precise and quick moves I learned from Kraglin, my hair coming out of the ponytail it's in. Just a freak trying to fit in. Like anyone will ever want a freak like you around. You just screw up everything around you. You just scare everyone around you. What's the use in being alive or around if that's all you're ever going to do? If all you're ever going to be is a freak?
"Yer too good 'a Mechanic an' Ravager ta let tha' 'appen. Git it?" I give the punching bag a Chuck Norris kick then another with my other foot and catch it, panting softly.
"You finally win?" I turn and see the others in the doorway, shrugging slightly.
"Sure, let's go with that." I take my hair tie out and run my hand through my hair, combing it away from my face while I put the hair tie around my wrist.
"You almost put a hole in it a couple of times," Martinex says drily and I inwardly flinch at the tone, just shrugging one shoulder on the outside.
"If you say so. Is there something you need?"
"Yer confined ta yer Quarters, Girl. Git."
"For what?"
"Fer wha'? Yer kiddin', yeah?" Kraglin scoffs and I cross my arms slightly, looking at him. "Ya threw Vola off 'a tha' level! Git ta yer damned Quarters 'fer Ah throw ya in m'self!"
"Yes, Sir." I head out of the gym and wipe at my forehead slightly as I do, sweating. Just a disappointment and a freak. I run a hand through my hair and Martinex catches my wrist tightly, staring at it. "What?"
"What happened to your wrist?"
"A lot of stuff. You wanna let go?" He narrows his eyes at me before letting go and I rub my wrist slightly.
"Gimme yer knives, Kid."
"What the Hell for?" I look at Kraglin and he grabs me by my tank top, pulling me closer.
"Ah said, gimme yer knives. So, give 'em 'fer Ah take 'em off 'a ya m'self." He lets go of me and I clench my jaw slightly before taking my knife holsters off, handing them to him.
"Want my blaster too?" He glares at me and takes the holster off himself.
"Le's go." He grabs me by the back of my neck and starts to drag me out of the gym despite me tensing.
I grab his elbow and hit him in the ribs, getting him to let go of my neck with a growl. "You don't need to fucking touch me, so don't do it." He swings at me and I duck away from his fist, rolling into the hallway to avoid another punch. I stand as I start to bolt and lose myself in the crowd of Ravagers easily, moving quickly to get to my Quarters, pissed off.
Yondu's signature whistle sounds and I move a bit faster before ducking into a hallway that no one used and would get me to my Quarters faster. I round a corner and break into a run once I'm sure no one's around. Yondu's whistle sounds again followed by the buzz of his arrow and I trip on something, face planting as I cut up my bare hands on some glass shards. This is why you don't go barefoot on a Ravager ship... The Yaka arrow buzz gets louder and I turn my head slightly to see it coming for me, feeling tears prick my eyes. I clamber to my feet and continue to my room, turning into it before slamming the door shut before the arrow can do anything.
I pant softly and try to lock the door with no luck because of the blood on my hands. So much blood on your hands. Not just yours either... I shake my head slightly and go into my bathroom, quickly rinsing the blood off before I bandage myself up, using my teeth to tear the bandages apart. They're going to get rid of you because you're such a burden and a hassle. You're too annoying. The tears start to slide down my face at that and I clench my jaw slightly, finishing up with my hands before I leave my bathroom as I wipe the tears away quickly.
"Leave me in peace for one damned hour... Gods," I mutter to myself as my door opens and Kraglin comes in, slamming the door shut behind him, pissed as he locks it down.
"Yer pissin' me an' Cap off, Kid. Lucky fer ya, T'Naga's gonna take care 'a ya fer a while. Else ya was gonna end up in the Brig," He growls and doesn't wait for a response as he unlocks the door, opening it.
They're actually getting rid of you... Damn... I don't react and Martinex looks at me. "Get some shit together. We leave in five minutes."
"Leave Yondu's leathers here. You'll get some for my crew," Stakar says before they leave and I sit on my bunk, not sure how to react or respond.
This is real... You annoyed them so much that they're actually getting rid of you... You're a fucking jackass and a fucking idiot... I pack clothes and anything else I need quickly, other than my leathers, and head to the hangar, not sure how to feel right now. People get out of my way and I get to the hangar in record time as Stakar shows up in the doorway of it. "Took long enough. Let's go." I follow him onto his M-ship, noticing Yondu and Kraglin were nowhere to be found.
They didn't even want to see you off. How does it feel? I ignore the voice to the best of my ability and Stakar pushes me into a seat before I strap in quickly while he and Martinex pilot the ship out of the hangar.
"What the Hell you did do to your hands?" I look at Martinex then my hands and flex my fingers slightly.
"Broken glass in a rarely used hallway."
"And how'd you manage to find a hallway like that?"
"Despite popular belief, I don't go around beating the shit out of everyone. I'm not that fucking cocky and some of the crew isn't that fucking stupid. A guy that got killed on a job found out about it and beat the shit out of me. More careful than that fungus-looking ass when I first got on the Eclector."
"What about you during that job?"
"I got my ass handed to me and was in Med, passed out while the funeral was going on." He nods a bit and I cross my arms loosely on my torso. "So... What's gonna be happening while I'm around you guys?"
"You're gonna get more training and work than with Blue, for starters."
"Yeah, cuz I don't do enough work," I scoff and Stakar responds by hitting me in the head. "Ow! What the Hell, Pops?"
"You ain't gonna be giving the Leads or Marty any attitude either."
"This is just part of my charm. Not my fault you guys can't handle it."
"You're worse than Blue was when we first found him... Gods..." Martinex rubs his face and I lean back in my seat, annoyed and frustrated.
"What type of training?"
"More hand to hand, blaster, and knife training. You're also going to learn the rest of the teams and some terrain training," He explains and I nod a bit, not sure how to respond.
"You got that music thing of yours?" Stakar asks and I nod, pulling it out. He snatches it and puts it in an inside pocket of his duster while I stare at him in shock. "I ain't gonna put up with the crew having to be in front of you to get your attention while you're listening to this. You'll get it back once I've decided to give it back. Got it?"
"Uh, yeah... Got it..." I agree slowly, confused as Hell right now, and he nods, docking us in the hangar.
"Marty, take her to the designer and get her some leathers."
"Yes, Sir." Martinex leads me to the designer's area and I follow, having not been on this ship since I stowed away. "Hey! Kor!" A guy who looks like Segs hangs from the ceiling and sees me, climbing down quickly.
"You must be the Rogue my brother tells me about!" He smiles brightly, his face doing the same thing Segs does and looks me over. "He was right! You look fabulous in everything! I am ecstatic that I get the chance to work with you!" He claps and looks me over some more. "First thing first. Leathers because, Darling, you stick out like a sore thumb in those."
"Pretty sure I'll stick out like a sore thumb without them, but OK..." Martinex hits me in the head and I kind of glare at him. "Ow!"
"Watch the attitude."
"I'm not having an attitude. This is just how I talk. That's why I said it was part of my charm. But no one wants to fucking listen to me," I mutter and Kor looks at me, seeming a little sad.
"I understand the feeling, Darling. I need privacy to work." Martinex nods and leaves. "I have heard of what happened to you on Terra and I apologize deeply for your losses."
"It's fine. It happened a long time ago."
"Two annual cycles is not that long of a time, Darling." He hugs me and I return it awkwardly, patting his back a bit before he lets me go. "But, I shall help you get through your time on this ship. If you sound like you have an attitude, try to change that. If it is not possible to do that, try to change your tone or, perhaps, speak very little." He advises as he gathers leathers for me and I nod a bit.
"So just like Terra, got it."
"Well, less like Terra in the fact that you will not get beaten on. For the time being of you being on the ship, you are a crewmate under Captain S Ogord."
"That how you differentiate between the Ogords?" He nods and I nod a bit. "Got it. This should be fun..." He holds the leathers in front of me and nods a bit.
"Try these on, please. Over there behind the curtain." I follow where he points and I close the curtain behind me, starting to get changed.
I look in the mirror when I'm done and feel kind of numb as voices make me feel like shit. "Darling?" I step from behind the curtain with my leathers in my arms and he looks me over, smiling. "You look fabulous!" I smile and he takes the leathers from me. "I will keep these safe for you and will hold onto your bag, Darling. I am sure Captain has something for you to do already." I get a message on my wrist com and look at it, nodding a bit.
"Yeah. To meet him in Controls." There's a sudden ship-wide announcement for everyone to get to Controls immediately. Kor leads me that way and I follow as a bad feeling rises in my stomach all the way to my throat. And I fucking hate it. I carefully run a hand through my hair and Martinex catches me as I'm about to go in.
"Wait up, Rogue. You'll be going in soon enough."
"What's this about and why am I even on this ship?"
"Didn't know you had to be included in information like this." He raises an eyebrow and I don't respond, not sure how to. He nods slightly and leads me into Controls after a few minutes.
Every head in the room turns to look at us and the bad feeling squeezes my throat, making it a little difficult to breathe. I want to run away but I can't and dig my nails into my palm slightly, calming down slightly.
Too many eyes, too many people staring at me... I want to go back to the Eclector... I want to go back home... Home with Gramps and Krags... Home with Fang and Jay... Home in my own Quarters and bunk... Home with those assholes... I just want to go home, away from all of these eyes on me... I feel my heart start to race as I get close to a panic attack and cross my arms to hide pinching my side to ground myself.
Stakar comes in and gives the crew jobs, ignoring me for the time being. "You're dismissed." The crew leaves and I try to follow. "Not you." He catches me by the collar of my duster and pulls me back, looking me over a bit before nodding. "Leathers fit well. I'm glad." I run a hand through my hair carefully and he notices. "Med first to make sure your hands are healing properly. Marty."
"On it." Martinex leads me to Med and I follow, heart still beating pretty quickly. "Doc, you in here?" An Aakon comes from a room in the back and looks at us.
"What do you need?"
"Her hands need to be checked out to make sure they're gonna heal properly." He nods and directs me over to a cot.
"Get up." I sit on the edge of it and he unwraps my hands, fingers resting against my wrist. His eyes read confusion and he presses against my wrist slightly. "Have you done any physical activity since arriving onboard?"
"No..."
"Then why's your heart racing as if you did?" I shrug and he stares at me before continuing to unwrap my hands. "What did you do to them?"
"Fell on broken glass. I'm a clutz that way." Martinex flicks me in the forehead and I'm starting to get pissed with that but keep my mouth shut.
"And who cleaned them?"
"I did. Didn't have time to go to Med on the Eclector." Neither of them has a response for a moment and Doc nods slowly.
"Well... Not bad. They'll heal properly. You wanna get out and leave me alone now?" I get off of the cot and Martinex leads me out of Med.