I Need A Hero Vol. 4 {Peter Quill}

six

Carol had landed the Benatar in the yard of the Avengers compound. Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes, Tony Stark, and Pepper Potts could feel the entire compound shaking, so they went outside to investigate. When they got outside, the first person they saw was Carol, who turned around to face them.

"You must be The Avengers" she said.

"Yeah. Who are you and why were you carrying our friends' spaceship?" Tony asked. The door to the ship opened. Helena, Meredith, Nebula, Rocket, Lylla, Kraglin, Xavier, and Kamomile all stepped out. There was no sign of Gwen or Thor however. Meredith went over to stand beside Carol. The two women smiled at each other.

"Avengers, it's good to see you again" Helena addressed them.

"You too Helena. Where's Gwen and Thor? Did you leave them on Kosmo?" Natasha asked.

"My sister is having a little anxiety about leaving the ship. Thor is with her, trying to calm her down. This is her first time back on Earth in over thirty years. It's bringing back memories"

"Gwen used to live on Earth? I thought she was born on Kosmo" Bruce wondered.

"She was" Xavier began to explain. "Thanos and his army attacked Kosmo the day Gwen was born. Ophelia and I, despite our hatred for this planet and it's people back in the day, thought that Earth would be safest for her"

"Why don't you all come inside? We'll let Gwen gather her thoughts and then we'll explain why we wanted you here" Steve suggested.

"You guys go on ahead. Carol and I will wait for my mom and Thor" Meredith urged. Everyone nodded in agreement. The Guardians proceeded to follow the Avengers into the compound. Meredith and Carol both took a seat on the steps leading into the ship.

"So Meredith, what's your story?" Carol asked.

"Not much to tell, I guess. Half of my family is dead, including my dad, and my mom is already forgetting about him. I got stuck in this body---"

"What do you mean stuck? You weren't always a pretty redhead with purple streaks?" Meredith blushed at Carol's comment. She thought the blonde was quite pretty herself.

"No. It's hard to explain. It's part of my powers. The ones I get from the Celestial part of me. My mom is Kosmonian, but my dad was half-Terran and half-Celestial. I think I aged faster than I intended to"

"How old were you before?"

"Four" Carol was trying to wrap her head around what Meredith had said. She said she was four, but yet she looked like she was in her twenties. Yet, Carol was older than she actually looked thanks to her being a Human-Kree hybrid. "I think when my powers activated, it aged me by about twenty years"

The two girls heard footsteps behind them. Meredith and Carol stood up and turned around to see that Gwen and Thor exited the ship. They were holding hands, and Meredith was feeling her blood boil again. She needed to excuse herself before she lost control again. "I'll meet you inside Carol" Meredith made her way into the compound. Gwen watched as she did so, feeling heartbroken. Her own daughter hated her now.

"Everything okay Gwen?" Carol asked.

"Yes, everything is fine. It's just..." Gwen took a look around her surroundings. It felt weird being back on Earth after so long. She only wished that Peter was here to experience it with her. "Last time I was on Earth, I was only about eight years old" Carol nodded, and then she looked at Thor, making awkward eye contact with him. The two of them were only now meeting each other. "Oh, Carol, this is Thor. Thor this is Carol. She carried the ship all the way here"

"Thank you for your generous deed, Lady Carol" Thor thanked her.

"No need to add the lady part. Carol is fine. Should we all go in? I think they're waiting for us" The three of them made their way into the compound, Gwen unaware that an unexpected surprise was waiting for her.

~

As soon as they all made it into the compound, an woman with long brown hair and brown eyes joined them dressed in a SHIELD uniform. The woman approached Natasha as soon as she saw her.

"Is this them?" the woman asked.

"Yes, Agent Pierce" Natasha assured the woman. Rocket's ears perked at the name. He thought it was odd how this woman shared Gwen's maiden name. The woman looked at the Guardians, her eyes trailing over each and every one of them.

"I don't see her with them"

"She's coming, Pierce. I can assure you" Natasha turned to the Guardians. "This is Agent Beverly Pierce. She lost her husband in the decimation. Another SHIELD agent by the name of Marcus Pierce"

"It's nice to meet you all. Agent Romanoff told me about you guys" Beverly's eyes were averted when Meredith, Carol, Thor, and Gwen all entered. Her eyes were planted on Gwen. Beverly's gaze was starting to make Gwen feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, guys, who is this?" she asked, pointing at Beverly. The aforementioned woman began approaching her slowly.

"Gwen, is that really you?"

"Do I know you?" Gwen was becoming super freaked out right now. She's never met this woman before. How would she know her name? Natasha probably told this woman about them, but Beverly spoke to Gwen as if she knew her.

"After all these years" Beverly gently touched her cheek. Gwen really wanted to punch her, but she saw that she had a gun in her holster so that probably wasn't a good idea. Xavier saw that this woman was making his daughter uncomfortable so he stepped in.

"Madam, I would appreciate it if you could keep your hands off of my daughter" he spoke with authority in his voice. Beverly tore her eyes off of Gwen, and looked at Xavier.

"If she's your daughter, why the hell did you abandon her and leave her on mine and my husband's doorstep when she was a baby?" Beverly spat at Xavier. It then clicked in Gwen's head. Why this woman was acting like she knew Gwen. It was because she did.

"Mom?" Gwen pushed her father off to the side. "Is that you?" Beverly smiled yet again, and pulled her into a hug.

"Yes, Gwen, it's me. And after all these years, I finally found you"