The Secret Lover • Peter Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy) (Complete)

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

SELF CHAMBER/LASER DRILL

Nebula and Groot settle as the ship rights itself and blasts pierce the ship around them. Peter peers down at Rocket, who has jumped out of his seat and is pouring out the contents of his satchel.

"Why aren't you firing the laser?!" asked Peter stressed.

"They blew out the generator!I think I packed a small detonator." said Rocket.

"A detonator is worthless without explosives!" said Nebula.

"We got these!" said Rocket as he shows Nebula the Anulax batteries.

Peter leaves the controls to Yondu as he climbs down beside Rocket, now messing with wiring on his bomb.

"Is it strong enough to kill Ego?" asked Peter.

"If it is, it will cause a chain reaction throughout his entire nervous system." said Rocket.

"Meaning what?" asked Peter.

"The entire planet will explode. We'll have to get out of here fast. I rigged a timer." said Rocket.

Rocket stuffs the bomb back in his satchel. Groot climbs on his back. Rocket and Quill slap on their aero rigs.

"Go!" said Peter, he was happy that Nikolai was already on the ground.

They run and jump out of the laser drill, flying on their aerorigs, avoiding the gunfire. The zoom towards the blast hole on the side of the self chamber. Rocket and Peter land here, messily, tumbling.

BELOW SELF CHAMBER

Mantis is worried about something else entirely, the entire chasm begins trembling and the walls start to mutate.

"He's coming." said Mantis.

"Didn't you say you could make him sleep?" asked Drax.

"When he wants! He's too powerful! I can't!" said Mantis.

"You don't have to believe in yourself because I believe in you." said Drax.

They look ahead. They see, on the enormous wall in front of them, the light-form of a giant Ego screaming angrily. His scream becomes a tunnel of rocks rushing towards them like a train. Mantis sees a nerve bundle on the ground coming from Ego's Core. Although afraid, she grabs it.

MANTIS "SLEEP!" Mantis screams with effort and some pain as energy travels through the bundle and into the core, where it darkens.

The light leaves the rock formation and it slams into the ground in front of them, splashing dirt over them. But they are safe, shivering. Drax and Gamora look at each other.

"I never thought she'd be able to do it. With as skinny and weak as she appears to be" said Drax.

Mantis's arm is trembling.

"I don't know how long I can hold him!" said Mantis.

"You need to, girl. If you don't keep Ego at bay, we all die." said Gamora.

OPENING OF BLAST HOLE

Rocket shines a powerful pen light inside the cavity, exposing the interior, spattered with Swiss-cheese-like holes glowing with light.

"The metal is too thick! For the bomb to work we'd actually need to place it on Ego's core. And our fat butts ain't gonna fit through those tiny holes." said Rocket.

"Well..." said Peter as he eyes Groot, who is playing with a leaf on his arm and thinking about something else entirely.

"That's a terrible idea." said Rocket.

"Which is the only kind of idea we got left." said Peter making Rocket sigh.

He puts Groot on his back and moves with Groot deeper into the blast hole, mumbling to himself.

"Unbelievable. 'Rocket, do this.Rocket, do that." said Rocket to himself.

Peter turns toward the opening.

"Uh, what a day." said Peter as he jumps out into the fray.

PLANET'S HOLLOW

Quill flies up as a ship flies in toward him blasting, and he's about to fire back. Man vs spaceship.

INSIDE BLAST HOLE

Blasts in the deep background. Rocket places a tiny bomb in front of Groot. It is a small, simple device with two switches and two buttons. He explains, very carefully.

"All right. First you flick this switch, then this switch. That activates it. And then you push this button, which will give you five minutes to get out of there. Whatever you do don't push this button, because that will set off the bomb immediately, and we'll all be dead. Now repeat back what I just said." said Rocket.

"I am Groot." said Groot.

"Uh huh." said Rocket nodding.

"I am Groot." said Groot.

"That's right." said Rocket.

"I am Groot." said Rocket pointing at the button he shouldn't push.

"No! That's the button that will kill everyone! Try again." said Rocket making Groot think.

"I am Groot." said Groot making Rocket nod.

"I am Groot." said Groot,Rocket nods along.

"I am Groot." said Groot pointing at the button again.

"No! That's exactly what you just said! How is that even possible?!Which button is the button you're supposed to push?! Point to it." said Rocket making Groot think.

And he points to the one that will kill everyone.

"NO!!!" said Rocket.

"Hey, you're making him nervous!" said Peter.

Rocket runs to see, at the end of the hole, a sliver of the outside as Peter peeks in while shooting at envoys.

"Shut up! And give me some tape!Does anyone have any tape out there!? I want to put some tape over the death button!" said Rocket.

"I don't have any tape. Let me check." said Peter as he disappears from the hole.

As Rocket waits, he hears, amongst the chaos, faintly.

"Yo, Yondu, do you have any - ow! -do you have any tape?!" asked Peter.

Rocket and Groot look around, waiting. Rocket is impatient. He coughs. Groot is like a bored kid in a waiting room. He shifts around and plays with the wires on the bomb. Peter reappears outside the hole, shooting an envoy.

"No one has any tape." said Peter.

"Not a single person has tape? Not even Nikolai?" asked Rocket, not believing that Nikolai didn't have any tape because he always had stuff with him.

"You have priceless batteries and anatomic bomb in your bag! If anyone had tape it would be you!" said Peter.

"That's exactly my point! I have to do everything!" said Rocket.

"Dude, you're wasting time!" said Peter.

Rocket turns back to Groot, who has already taken the bomb band is heading towards the hole.He makes a "WHEEEEEE" sound and smiles brightly as he hops into the hole and slides down as if on a water slide. Rocket, heavy-lidded, watches him go.

"We're all gonna die." said Rocket tiredly.