Multiverse Era

Chapter 4

Someone pushes me awake as I catch myself falling out of my chair. My feet hit the floor of the ship with a thud as multiple pairs of eyes turn to look at me. I sheepishly smile, trying my best to hide away with my shoulders. The person next to me bumps my arm again, making me look at them.

"I was getting a good nap in, Groot. Why'd you have to wake me up?" I glare at the tree-like creature, hoping he realizes how mad I am that I was woken up.

He just points forward, fascinated by whatever is outside. Looking out the front window of the ship, I see a giant skull-like planet. The rest of the group watches on as well, waiting for someone to tell us what awaits. Gamora shortly explains why we are headed to the strange place, but I tune most of it out.

Once Quill lands the ship, we all pile out. I glance warily at the newcomer to our group, not knowing if I should trust him. The green-skinned woman sidesteps him as she climbs off the ship, giving me my answer.

"So where is this buyer of yours?" I eye the bag that Quill holds close to his body, knowing if anyone pays enough attention to him, he's going to get lose whatever belongings he has on him.

Gamora leads us into the busy center of the town, glancing around. Kids run between us all, causing me to hug my jacket tighter to my body. I place my hands in my pockets, keeping my belongings to myself. Spinning the ring on my finger, I take in a deep breath.

"My buyer is making us wait a little longer." My new friend finishes her sweep of the crowd as she turns to look at the rest of us.

Rocket grumbles. "What are we supposed to do while we wait then?"

Ten minutes later I sit against the wall outside the bar as cheers erupt from inside. Rocket had said no one would care if I went inside, but I didn't feel like watching weird alien creatures fight each other. I already knew Rocket was going to lose a lot of money betting, but after this gig, we wouldn't be sharing anymore. I was going to make sure of it.

I briefly hear Gamora and Quill talking nearby. The man is poorly explaining an American movie that only the two of us have heard of. I doubt Gamora had time between working for her father and breaking out of prison to watch Footloose. It works in his favor though, as he spins the story like it's folklore.

When it gets too quiet for my liking, I glance over at the pair. The green-skinned woman holds the man at knifepoint, looking very angry. I silently cheer her on as I make my way over. The sound of my boots must alert Gamora of my presence as she slightly eases up on the pressure but doesn't move away.

"Aww, this is my favorite trope." I bring my hands up to my face, placing my palms against my cheeks. "Enemies to Lovers. A classic."

Gamora removes her knife, spinning around to face me. "Go find Rocket, Quinn. Peter and I are having a peaceful conversation."

My hands make their way back into my pockets. "Please don't kill the man. I was just starting to like him."

Suddenly, there's a crashing sound behind us. I spin around to look through a window of the bar, watching as the newest member of our group tackles Groot to the ground. The two behind me take off to stop the fight, getting there just in time for Rocket to pull out a gun.

Making my way inside, I cautiously watch the argument between the raccoon and Quill. "You've all made me out as some kind of monster!"

Quill stands in front of Rocket, his hands up to stop the creature. "What are you talking about?"

"He called me 'vermin'! And she called me a rodent!" The gun falls limp in his arms for a few seconds as he points at the two behind the man. The raccoon quickly regains control of the gun, pointing it at Quill.

I watch as the man fails at calming the raccoon down, taking matters into my own hands. Stepping between the two, I hear Quill curse under his breath. Rocket's staredown shifts to me, the gun slightly shaking in his hands.

"Put the frikin' gun down Rocket." My hands remain in my pockets as I try to keep as much of my calm as I can. He makes direct eye contact with me, a slight tremble in his eyes. He's angry and scared.

When he makes no move to lower the gun, Quill steps up behind me again. "Think about the money, man!"

The creature looks over my shoulder. "Fine! But don't think for a second that once we're done here, I won't want to kill every single one of you." He lowers the gun to his side, looking at the ground as he shakes his head.

"This is exactly why none of you have friends."

I don't look at Quill as he starts to walk away. My eyes stay on Rocket, wondering what could be going through his tiny, little head.

~~~~~~~~~

The white-haired man looks at the silver orb with glee and curiosity. He leads us over to a table as he hooks the ball up to some sort of machine. We all watch in anticipation to see what is inside.

Keeping my eyes focused on the silver ball, I make sure I don't look around. When we first walked inside this place, I saw all the different creatures on display like a museum. I knew my brain would never let me forget whatever I saw here, so I decided to keep my head down. The cages sparked too many memories already forged in my brain.

The crazy man goes on to explain what, exactly, we are handing over. The machine opens up the orb, displaying a bright purple crystal. It calls out to us, begging us to come closer. My feet don't move an inch as I look over at my friends. They seem to be listening to the man intently, more curious than I am about what this strange crystal is.

Quill asks about the money breaking the old man from his explanation. He moves around his exhibits, seemingly looking for something. With his back turned, the man's assistant steps up to the orb, slowly reaching her hand closer. All the air seems to get sucked out of the room as soon as she touches it. Purple flames shoot in every direction, trying to find a target. As I try to duck out of the way, finding a safe place to hide, I can't help but wonder if the old man had planned for this to happen.