Maya Stark

Chapter 37: Mayday, emotions discovered

I was standing next to my dad when we started approaching the surface of a planet.

'Hey,' Peter said to my dad. 'What's going on?'

'I think we're here,' said Strange.

'I don't think this rig has a self-park function,' dad said urgently. 'Get your hand into this steering gimbal. Close those around it. You understand?'

'Yeah, got it,' Peter said. I tap my ring twice, getting my suit back on. The ship was heading straight for the center of something that would really damage us. 'We might wanna turn. Turn! Turn! Turn!'

Dad and Peter throw up their helmets at the same time as we clip the thing and loose a good third of the ship. I step in between the two and throw up a force field around us to soften the landing. Strange put up some magic thing right under it for some extra protection. The ship slams to the ground and plows forward, finally stopping and leaning to one side. I manage to stay on my feet and keep the barrier up. Once I know we are stopped, I let it fall, and tap my ring once to get rid of the helmet.

Strange helped my dad up, who was out of breath. 'You alright?' he asks Strange. 'That was close. I owe you one.'

Peter descends from the ceiling next to me. 'Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something, and I eat one of you, I'm sorry.'

Dad points at Peter. 'I don't wanna hear another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip, you understand?'

'I'm trying to say that...something is coming,' Peter said.

'Why don't you lead with that?' I ask.

A grenade rolls into view and the four of us get flown back when it fires. Peter and I fly in the same direction. I manage to cushion our fall, but it happened fast, and we still landed pretty hard. When I look up, I see a weird looking thing with what looked liked, Antennas.

Peter and I move backwards away from her, frantically, and Peter shoots webs at her in a panic, pinning her arms. Then a guy comes flying towards us, kicking Peter away and turning to me. I grab a knife and throw one at him as he goes back towards Peter. I graze his leg, making him drop a couple feet, and distracting him, but other than that, it didn't do much. I follow them down as my dad puts a foot on the big guy and the one that I cut, had Peter in a headlock. I light energy in both hands, looking towards Peter. The girl from earlier comes jumping up, still covered in webs.

'Alright, everybody, stay where you are...chill the F out,' The guy who had Peter said. He powers off his helmet. 'I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?'

'Yeah, I'll do you one better,' dad said, de-helmeting. 'Who's Gamora?'

'I'll do you one better,' the big guy my dad was standing on said. 'Why is Gamora.'

'Tell me where the girl is,' the guy who had Peter said, 'or I swear to you, I'm gonna French-fry this little freak.'

'Let's do it! You shoot my guy, I blast him. Let's go!' dad said, extending his nano-tech cannon thing that is badass.

'Dad!' I say, looking at him wide eyed.

'Do it, Quill! I can take it!' the big guy said.

'No, he can't take it,' the weird girl said.

'She's right. You can't,' Strange adds.

'Oh yeah?' the guy named Quill said. 'You don't want to tell me where she is? That's fine. I'll kill all four of you and beat it out of Thanos myself.' He puts his gun to Peter's head. 'Starting with you.'