The Kind & The Cruel

Chapter 11

I had planned to make sure Peter was okay and then leave, but his aunt invited me in and it felt rude to say no. We talked for hours and I got to know Peter better, which was nice. I was now standing outside their building trying to decide what to do. I sighed. I already knew.

I opened a portal into the Avengers Compound right in front of my dad. He didn't seem very surprised to see me. 

"Y/N. You can't be here. I can arrest you right now." I frowned.

"But you won't." It wasn't a question.

He sighed "No, I won't. What are you going to do?" I shrugged.

"I'm going back to space. I already contacted my friends. They'll be here in an hour. I just wanted to talk to you first." I sighed. "I had to do it. You know that." Dad sighed but nodded.

"I know. Always gotta be the hero." I smiled. "I'm the same way, huh?" I laughed and nodded.

"Guess it runs in the family." Dad laughed. "Wasn't Grampa some big hero?"

"Yep. You know he's the one who helped with the super serum? He made Steve's shield." I smiled. "I bet I could've done better." I laughed.

"What would you do? Make it iron instead of vibranium? Make it an octagon?" We laughed. I stopped when I saw my watch beeping. I sighed. "They're here early." Dad looked up, surprised.

"You're space friends?" I nodded. He came over and hugged me. "I'll miss you." I handed him another interstellar device since Steve had the other one.

"Please only use this for emergencies. I don't think this is traceable, and I will be in space, but you can never be too sure." Dad nodded sadly as I opened a portal inside the ship. Dad seemed amazed. I waved and walked inside.

"You could've just teleported?! I didn't have to fly all the way down to Earth?" Quill demanded.

"No, because I needed you to be still. You wouldn't have been if you were still in space." Quill sighed dramatically, but I knew it was just for show.

"What happened, Navy?" Rocket asked. Groot walked over to me and placed a tiny hand on my arm.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I just need to get off this planet." Rocket nodded and took off. After about 15 minutes, he asked again. I told them. Not only did they agree with the side I chose, they also gave just the right reactions at the right times. Even Drax. I loved these guys.

Later that night, when I was almost asleep, I felt something sitting on my bed. I opened my eyes to see Groot in front of me. I smiled and sat up next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I just miss my dad. And Loki. Wearing that suit just reminded me of him."

"But you wear it all the time."

"Yeah, but I guess being on Earth just brought back all these memories." Groot was silent for a moment.

"I never knew my real parents. Rocket is all I've ever known." I smiled sadly and pulled him into my arms. He hugged me back.

"Do you want to sleep here tonight?" Groot nodded and walked over to the bed I had made just for him. He may be a 'teenager' in groot years, but he was still a big softie. At least with me. Soon, we were both asleep.

******

When I woke up, Groot was gone. As I walked out of my room, I saw him eating breakfast with the others. 

"Good morning," I said with a yawn. A chorus of 'good mornings' came from everyone. "So what are we doing today?"

"I think we need a vacation," Quill said suddenly. Gamora put down her spoon.

"What do you mean?"

"A vacation! A break from all of this. Y/N especially needs this."

"Where would we go?" Drax asked. He was completely bent over his cereal bowl. 

"Somewhere! Somewhere beautiful! And peaceful!" 

"We could go to Vanaheimr."

"Where?" Rocket asked. They were all looking at me in confusion.

"Loki explained the nine realms to me a couple of years ago. One of them is Vanaheimr. It's the sister realm of Asgard. It's said to be peaceful and beautiful. I've also heard it has great training grounds." 

"Okay," Rocket said, smiling. "I'm in."

"Me too!" Groot said happily. I smiled at him.

"I'd be up for it," Gamora said. Drax nodded in agreement.

"One problem," Quill said. "How do we get there? You said it's in another realm."

"I might be able to open a portal big enough to fit the Milano. I would need an isolated planet to do it on though."

Drax suddenly snapped his fingers. "The moon!"

Everyone was silent, but then I nodded.

"Yeah, that works."

"Seriously?!" Rocket said. "He was right about something?!" I frowned.

"He's right about a lot of things. You just don't realize it." Rocket shook his head as Quill stood up and walked to the pilot's seat. (Is it called a pilot's seat in a spaceship?)

"To the moon then!" Quill said. I laughed and sat in the seat next to him.

"Hey!" Rocket said around a mouthful of bagel. "That's my seat!" I gave him a look.

"You're eating. I'm not. Besides, it's your fault for teaching me how to fly." Rocket grumbled a complaint but didn't get up. I laughed as Quill lifted the Milano into the sky.

An hour later, Peter was sparring with Gamora and Rocket was helping Drax repair something, so I was flying solo, with only Groot as my company. He was playing his video game but would talk to me from time to time.

"We're here!" I shouted as I carefully hovered the Milano over the moon. Quill came rushing out and sat down in the pilot's seat. He carefully helped me land the Milano.

"What now?" Rocket asked as he walked out, followed by the others. 

"I'll go out and hopefully open a portal to Vanaheimr big enough to fit the Milano."

"Will it hurt you or take a lot of energy?" Drax asked, furrowing his brow. I smiled at him.

While he could be a little bit draft at times, he was still very sweet. And the part of him that used to be a dad still took over most of the time.

"I'll be fine. Thank you though." Drax nodded. I quickly changed into my suit and pressed the button on the side of my mask that made it so I could breathe in space. They opened the door and I walked out. 

Walking on the moon felt weird. It felt as though I didn't have full control. I took a step, and it kind of turned into a hop. I giggled at the strange feeling before continuing. I stopped in front of the Milano.

I took a deep breath and remembered how Loki described Vanaheimr.

'It's beautiful! It has huge green mountains covered in flowers and massive trees that are always green! It rarely snows, but when it does, the place looks like a soft, white blanket. And the waterfalls! The waterfalls are beautiful and there's almost always a rainbow by one. There's a big lake that always has fireflies floating over it at night. I hope to take you there someday.'

I felt tears coming to my eyes. I missed him. I missed him so much. 

I opened my eyes and saw the portal. It was the biggest one yet and could certainly fit the Milano. Quill and Rocket guided the ship through the portal. I shrank it down as soon as the Milano was through. I looked back to the small blue dot that was Earth. I took a deep, shaky breath before walking through the portal to join my friends.