fiction | Part of the journey is the end

Book 16 - Guardians of the galaxy Vol 3 | 1. 89P13

A litter of baby raccoons playfully huddled upon one another inside their cage until a shadow of a tall figure entered the room, walked toward the cage, and opened it.

Rocket's blood ran cold, and his body was instantly filled with an intense fear of seeing the shadow. The High Evolutionary. Just thinking about him made him want to hit something and sob simultaneously. It was the worst time of his life, but there had been a bright spot in it until he ruined it with his stupidity.

Everyone else's eyes flickered to Rocket at seeing the baby raccoons.

Except for Baby Rocket, the rest of the kits cowered back inside their cage. Baby Rocket remained at the front in a state of nervousness as the menacing hand of the High Evolutionary loomed over him.

Rocket felt bile rise up in his throat. He hadn't known about this or remembered any of it since it was before he gained intelligence. His eyes darted to the rest of the creatures; what were they? Was he really not one of a kind? That's what he thought all this time, but now he was seeing that there were other creatures like him, even though they were younger. A look of disgust passed his face. Was he really a...raccoon? He shook his head; no, that wasn't possible. He couldn't be a raccoon; he just couldn't.

The rest of the Guardians narrowed their eyes as dread pooled in their stomachs. They'd seen the enhancements on Rocket's back even though he tried to hide them, and they knew that life had been cruel to him. They didn't know much about Rocket's life before they'd met him, but Quill, Gamora, and Drax hadn't forgotten about the drunken, angry ramble Rocket went on at the bar at Knowhere when they had been waiting for the Collector. I didn't ask to get made! I didn't ask to be torn apart and put back together over and over, turned into some...some little monster!

The Avengers and Eternals were slightly lost, but they knew the baby raccoon was Rocket. They didn't like where any of this was going.

Present-day Rocket walked around Knowhere, listening to 'Creep' by Radiohead on Peter Quill's Zune over the speakers. He mumbled along with the lyrics.

There was still an uneasy atmosphere in the room, but the Guardians were aware that Rocket didn't like talking about his past, and the Avengers knew Rocket absolutely hated being called a raccoon, so they let it go.

Rocket's heart pounded in his chest as he tried to calm himself down after seeing the High Evolutionary again, even if it was just his shadow and looming hand. He tried to pay attention to the music; it always calmed him down, and he slowly felt his anxiety disappear. He would never admit it, but Creep by Radiohead was one of the songs he listened to the most in private. The lyrics just made sense.

Tony's eyes twitched at seeing the Zune again. It was an ancient piece of technology, but they had centenarians on the team and a woman who still used a pager even though she lived in space. He knew the Zune had sentimental value to Quill, but it was a Zune! Who had that in this day and age?

"Creep by Radiohead. That's a good song," said Stephen.

Mantis swayed to the song, trying to get Drax to dance. "Only idiots dance," Drax said.

"Exactly, which is why Mantis is dancing," Drax said. Mantis punched him hard on the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. "What's wrong with you?! It's a fact only idiots dance. Look at Quill, he's your brother."

Quill and Mantis rolled their eyes.

"Drax is never going to dance," said Thor.

"That's because I'm not a loser," said Drax.

Groot and Nebula put up a sign written in Kree letters. Knowhere's appearance had improved since the Kevin Bacon incident.

"Oh wow, the place has really brightened up," said Peter.