A Twist Of Marvel || Infinity War

76. Language

Much of the rooms tension was dispelled as the group argument subsided into quiet, general conversation. Tony had left the room to adequately prepare for Bruce's mystery video, which everyone awaited with anticipation. After Tony's departure, the heroes dispersed into their respective groups, the only exception being Peter and Shuri, speaking to one another animatedly at the far wall of the room. Other than the young heroes, the others stuck to their cliques tightly- the most notable example being Bruce and Thor, who chose to stay with Valkyrie and Loki rather than reconnect with their former comrades. The open tension was gone, but the Avengers remained splintered.

"I do not think we are welcomed here." Mantis spoke quietly, directing the other Guardian's attentions to her. They were by far the most isolated group, having chosen to press into a corner rather than risk angering these strange people. Of course, none of the Avengers had openly done anything to separate the Guardians from themselves, but several odd stares and hushed whispers made a clear message.

"Who the hell cares? We don't need 'em." Rocket said. He wouldn't admit it, but he was getting antsy under the curious gazes. He and Groot were by far the oddest aliens, thus receiving much of the attention. Rocket hated being stared at. Groot, on the other hand, was too absorbed in his video game to notice. 

"Groot, put that thing away. I don't wanna have to tell you again." Quill demanded, going into parenting mode. Unfortunately, his words had little power over the teen, and didn't even earn acknowledgment. "Groot." Peter pressed, crossing his arms in a stern matter. That earned him a glare, as Groot mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" Gamora asked. Her voice was stony, but when Groot glanced over to her, he could see that her face was impassive at best. That boded well for Groot, since when Gamora raised a brow, everything was over. But her dispassionate scolding emboldened Groot, who had been frustrated with the entire affair since they landed on Earth. The planet was so boring.

"I am Groot." He sneered at Peter, not holding back. The Guardians erupted in gasps, even though they had paid witness to Groot's foul mouth several times.

"You got some real acorns on you, kid." Rocket warned, managing to be intimidating while also being the smallest group member. But Groot was not one for intimidation, and he loathed reminders that he was the youngest.

"I am Groot!"

"I can call you kid all I want!" Rocket retorted, fed up with the tree's behavior.

"Why do you take offense? There are several children here." Drax said, pointing blatantly to Peter Parker and Shuri. Peter, still fully dressed in the spiderman suit, perked up, sensing that he was being addressed.

"Yeah, why don't you go join the kids table, huh?" Rocket grinned evilly. "The adults are talking." Groot gaped at him, even pausing the game out of anger. This was clearly a crime against him, or at least it was in Groot's mind. Even worse, the other Guardians seemed to agree with Rocket- Mantis for one was thrilled at the thought of Groot making friends his age. It was almost too embarrassing for him.

Groot was all too ready to break away from the Guardians, though he wasn't initially eager to join the other 'kids.' However, what Groot hadn't taken into account was the walk to Peter and Shuri, who were at the far end of the room from the Guardians. As Groot trekked across the tile, conversation grew suspiciously quiet as the other heroes looked curiously at the walking tree. Groot's footsteps sounded loudly in his head, and it occurred to him halfway across the room that he was the only person walking- all others stayed with their own, without attempts to mingle. It was enough to make him want to turn around, go back to his family, but giving up would be even more humiliating than joining a different group.

However, as all things pass, Groot eventually made it to the other teens, and the lull in the conversation picked back up as heroes lost interest. This was intensely comforting to Groot, although now two strangers had their full and undivided attention on him.

"Hello! My name is Shuri!" The woman, Shuri, smiled brightly at him. Groot nodded back shyly, desperately wanting to turn his game back on.

"I'm Peter!" The spandex kid introduced, sticking his hand out for Groot to shake. He took it hesitantly, analyzing Peter as he shook his hand. Groot couldn't help but wonder if that was the teen's real skin, or if it was some kind of suit. He couldn't be sure, but it also weirded out Groot that the teen had the same name as Quill.

"I am Groot." He shrugged.

"Hey Groot!" Peter replied excitedly, his large white eyes widening. Definitely not a suit, Groot thought. He stood awkwardly for a moment, a finger tapping the game at his side. Maybe Mantis had been right when she said Groot needed to socialize with other teens. He couldn't remember the last time he had a real conversation with someone outside of the Guardians.

"So, where are you from?" Shuri asked, smile warm and friendly. Groot sighed, knowing that he couldn't properly reply. His family were the only people he knew who spoke Groot competently, other than the strange God-man Thor.

"I am Groot." He said. Groot watched Shuri's brow wrinkle in slight confusion, since she undoubtedly thought he just introduced himself again. In reality, Groot had told them he was from Xandar, where Rocket always claimed he was born when asked.

"Are you from another planet?" Shuri tried again, her eyes narrowed with curiosity and concentration. 

Groot said again, "I am Groot." He nodded too, answering her question that yes, he was technically from a  different planet.

Something in Shuri's head clicked, and her face brightened in a clear epiphany. "Groot, are you speaking an alien language?" She grinned. Groot straightened up,

"I am Groot!" He said, nodding adamantly. The game in his hand completely left his mind, overshadowed by the fact that the girl in front of him was undoubtedly the fastest person to ever understand he wasn't speaking English. Peter, though not coming to the conclusion as fast as Shuri had, kept up with the conversation with enthusiasm.

"Can we learn it? Please?" He asked, eyes widening even further as he bounced on his heels. Groot smiled and nodded to him, overjoyed that finally, someone outside of the Guardians was making an attempt to understand him. And they were his own age too, just to sweeten the pot.

"That will take too long," Shuri said, voice deepening in concentration. "But I think I can get a translator going soon enough- Tony should have the equipment." She raised her eyes up briefly, before apparently coming to a conclusion, nodding in satisfaction with a shit-eating grin. "Keep up!" She laughed, quickly turning toward the door. Peter and Groot fell in line behind her, exchanging excited glances- or at least Groot thought he was excited, since the other boy's face had hardly moved except for his eyes. But Groot was still convinced that the teen simply looked like that, so he didn't judge. He had seen some funky-looking aliens before, so Groot supposed it wasn't impossible.

They earned even more curious stares this time, but Groot didn't mind it so much since he wasn't alone. Peter and Shuri seemed not to notice, so he chose to ignore them. On the way out the door, Groot tossed his game in the general direction of the Guardians, knowing full well that Gamora's reflexes would catch it.

She did, and the Guardians looked on with surprised gazes as their collective son walked out with the teens he had been so adamantly against joining. Not to mention that Groot had never willingly parted with his game before. It was a momentous occasion- Quill seemed to be nearly tearing up.

"You feel... intense pride." Mantis revealed, her hand on Quill's shoulder. 

"Little guy's all grown up." Peter smiled, hands on his hips.

"Yeah." Rocket shrugged. The Guardians prepared themselves for a rude, or crass comment, as that was 95% of the raccoons vernacular. But he surprised them this time, reluctantly admitting, "we did good."