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A chortle of relief released as Ava placed her hands on her cheeks. Not being able to wipe off her opened mouth smile. Unaware of Poe watching her spin around in a victory dance. Waiting for her to trip on her feet.

Ava turned to see him standing there with a unreadable expression. She walked up to him and grabbed his forearms.

"Poe! We aren't going to die!" She began to ramble and beamed the brightest smile Poe had ever seen while she shook his arms. "That must friend I tried to contact yesterday! She must have gotten my message or something! We are are going to be okay and this means we can hopefully track down where Groot is. And BB-8! We can find your droid!"

Poe shook his head, amused by her celebration. He cleared his throat, hiding the previous smile he wore. "What about the uh, the Skrulls?"

Ava scoffed with a cocked eyebrow. "Pft, please. Carol is the Captain Marvel. She can take on this silly little band of pirates."

She notice her hands were still touching his arms and immediately retracted them. Looking down to avoid the awkward tension, before returning her gaze.

"So, what makes her so great?"

Ava sighed. "In a nutshell, she obsorbed cosmic energy and became a space soilder. She then got stuck in this war between the Skrulls and the Kree. For the record, most Skrulls are friendly but a few like the ones we met are criminals. So Carol is kind of in charge of keep the galaxy in line."

Her eyes widened as a light bulb appeared above her head and pointed at Poe. "Oh, and I should probably tell you that-"

A hand covered her mouth, leaving her speechless. He leaned in close and stared directly into her eyes.

"Slow down there blondie, let me process what you just said," Poe cut her off while his eyelids rested heavy as he looked down at her face with a smirk. "But thanks for filling me in sweetheart."

Ava could feel the blush on her cheeks, hiding underneath his hand. She grabbed his hand and ripped it away from her face. "You're still using nicknames for me, General?"

He shook his head after a small shrug. "Says the person who just called General."

"Because it's your respected title. There's a difference." Ava folded her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. "I can say something way worse if you want."

Poe smirked. "Whatever works for you blondie."

The shaking of the ship, broke her train of thought. Flashes flickering down the hall, casted shadows on the grey walls. Shouts from the Skrulls mixed with scraping metal clashing into a ear-piercing shriek. Both peeked towards the commotion. As if they were watching a movie at the climax, waiting for something to happen.

A Skrull crashed against the wall, just outside their cell. It so happened to be Navo, the one who wouldn't quit pressing tasing device. Not even a half second later, the source of light zipped into the room to be in front of Navo. The Skrull trembled in fear as he put his hands up after dropping his axe. Knowing his weapon was no match for Captain Marvel. She held him up by his jacket and raised a fist.

"Let them go!" She spat in a firm and demanding but calm voice, while nodding her head towards Ava and Poe.
"Now!"
Carol raised a fist, aiming close to his face.

With fear in his eyes, Navo slammed his hand on a holobutton. Immediately the glass disappeared. Ava rushed forwards with a huge smile on her face. Greeting Carol in a secret handshake that ended with a fist bump.

"Good to see you Major Q." Carol saluted her with a respectful grin.

"Not for long." An evil laugh entered the room behind Carol as Ava saw Raavaka holding a dagger in one hand and the device that electrocuted their necks. A limp in her step as she underestimated who she was up against. "You think you can just come in here and take down my crew so easily?"

Carol rolled her eyes and shot a blast of a photon at Raavaka without looking. Raavaka hit the floor passed out while Carol bent down and grabbed the device.
"I think I can." Captain Marvel huffed. Disabling the tablets on Ava and Poe necks. The two pulling them off carefully.

Carol eyes then fell on Poe and she let out a snicker with a snort. "Is this lost sheep with you, Ava?"

Ava looked over her shoulder to see Poe still standing in the cell. His jaw hanging loose as if he didn't know how to process what he just witnessed. Ava giggled as she took a few steps back to be next to him. She wrapped an arm around his right shoulder while her free hand patted the left.

"This loser here, is Poe." Ava addressed him, teasing with a new nickname.

"Hey! Excuse me-"

"Poe this is Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel is her hero name. Carol, Poe Dameron." Ava explained, gladly ignoring Poe's protest. Her hands gesturing back and forth. She stepped aside as Carol took his hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you Poe." She said with a tiny tug at the corner of her mouth.

Poe shook off the shade Ava had thrown at him. Starstruck at Carol and het abilities. "H-How did you do all of that? How can you fly in space without an X-wing or oxygen? Are you like a ghost or something?"

Carol chuckled. "Long story dude, but in short, I absorbed space energy from a magic cube and later became known as Captain Marvel."

"She's also from Earth and also used to be a pilot." Ava added with a nudge at Poe's arm.

He gasped and his eyes almost looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "Why didn't you tell me your home planet had pilots, Blondie!"

Carol nodded, confirming the statement. "It's true. I also even trained with Ava for a few months in the Air Force military."

Poe whipped his head at Ava, with more shock. "What!?"

Ava shrugged bashfully and avoided his gaze. "I only did it for year though."

A little pride snuck inside Ava, knowing he was impressed. But she bit her lip to focus on what mattered more.

"Anyways, I guess you did get my message afterall." Ava shrugged.

Carol put her hands on her hips. "That, and Joise works undercover."

Soon as she mentioned the Skrull, Joise stepped into the room and Navo stood their in utter betrayal.

Joise grinned. "It's all true, Navo. I never really liked you guys anyways."

"We have been tracking down these filthy Pirates for the past few months." Carol added. "They are wanted criminals and now they are enemies for trying to kidnap a Guardian of the Galaxy and uh-"

"General," Poe stated with bow and a smirk. "Resistance General at your service Captain."

"Huh, interesting." Carol hummed in response, with no reaction to his charm.

Ava did her best not to laugh when a frown appeared on his face. Of course Carol didn't fall for it, and neither did Joise who snickered at the attempt.

"How did you two get mixed up with these wholigains?" Carol asked.

Ava cleared her throat, hiding her snickering because of Poe's rejected frown. "Well, we were on Easik with my brother and the others, fighting a Babtherion. However we got separated in the process. Then this gang captured us." She gestured at the unconscious Ravaaka and Navo, but Joise attached the tablets on both.

The Captain raised her eyebrows as she held up the button, as if to tell Navo she wasn't afraid to use it.

"And they stole the tree and my droid." Poe included placing his hand on his hips with a sigh, wanting any resolution to his problems.

Carol lit up as she connected the dots and turned around like she solved a huge mystery. "Ohhhh! That explains why there were several headlines about a rolling ball being sold for units."

Poe huffed, tired of BB-8 being addressed as nothing but a valuable ball. Ava placed a hand on his shoulder and he silently asked her what she was doing with his eyes. With one nod, Ava assured him that she understood him.

"You mean his droid?" Ava clarified before sending a wink at Poe. He kept his mouth parted with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Yes," Carol corrected herself as she glanced at them. "The Droid, my bad. The word spread that it had a huge bounty. Even bigger if Groot was part of the deal."

"Right, do you know where they could have been sold to?" Poe asked, not doing a very good job of hiding his anxiety, and Ava rubbed her hand gently, hoping to keep him from reacting the way he did in front of the Nova Corps.

Carol sighed as she crossed her arms and looked at Ava. "I have a hunch."

Ava stared at Carol as they read each other's minds. As if they both knew the answer. Ava let her hand slide off of Poe's shoulder and grabbed the controller from Carol.

"I have a hunch too, but," She said before turning towards Navo and raising the device in front of his face. "Just to be sure, I think this guy could have answers."

Navo shook his head. "I don't have any answers to give."

Ava shrugged with a smug and hovered her thumb over the button. "Fine."

She pressed the button, causing Navo to scream in agony. After a few seconds, she let go and glared at the Skrull.

"Where did Ravaaka sell BB-8 and Groot?" She spat.

Navo gulped as a drop of sweat slid down the side of his head. Ava held up the controller again. His mouth stretched into a line, as if to keep his mouth sealed from spoiling a secret.

A hand wrapped around her hand holding the device and triggered the electric shock once again.

"It was Tivan!" Navo yelled over his painful grunts. "The Collector!"

Poe released his thumb off the button with a nod to accept the confirmation and Ava clicked in her mind.

"I knew it!"

She turned around, as Poe's hand fell back to his side. Avas eyes bounced to the three allies.

The Captain and Joise glanced at each other before Carol broke the silence. "I'm not surprised. That man is the worst in the Galaxy."

Poe frowned in concerned. "What do you mean the worst? Is he going to hurt BB-8?" His voice dripping in worry as the suspense grew in the tension.

Joise shrugged. "Depends on what he wants with him and Groot."

"Then we need to go now!" Poe said as he paced around the floor. He ran his hands through his curls and stressfully gripped his roots.

Remorse for him increased as Ava watched him slam a fist on the nearest wall.

"We need to get my droid back." He said faintly with a crack in his words while his fingers slide down, grazing the cool metal.

Ava remained fixed on his breaking point. She stretched her arm out with her hand reaching for his shoulder.

"Ava!?"

She dropped her arm, the same time Poe looked over his shoulder, and Ava pulled out her communicator.

"Gamora? Is that you?" Ava responded, hiding the communicator up to her mouth, catching Poe's eyes for moment. Almost forgetting she was on a call, she ripped her eyes away and refocused on Gamoras voice.

"Yes! We came back to Easik but where are you?"

"Well, we sort of got captured by Skrull Pirates." Ava said sarcastically. "But luckily, Carol came to save the day."

She looked up at the Captain and shared a mutual grin. Before saying or listening to another word, she peeked over at Poe who ran his fingers over his mouth.

"We also found out who took Groot and BB-8." Ava added, changing her direction to be focused on certain spots on the floor. Creating patterns inside her mind with them.

"Then let's regroup on Easik and we can make a plan from there." Gamora sugguested.

A scoff from Poe, ready to protest but Ava held up her index finger, signaling him to wait.

"We're on our way." She concluded in a professional manner, seeing Poe fuming and ready to explode.

She turned off her communicator and let out a sigh. "Poe, please try to understand-"

"Don't please me blondie!" He cut her off with his palm facing her and began to gesture with his arms. "We have a chance to rescue my droid and Groot. We have a walking X-wing with us who can help, and now you're saying to delay our mission by going back?"

Poe took a step towards Ava, only leaving a foot in between. "Whoever this 'collector' guy is, I think we have a shot Ava."

Ava gazed up at him, knowing how badly he desperately need his companion back. She closed her eyes and let out a pitiful exhale. "We can't mess with the Collector by ourselves. Do that and we have larger bounty on our heads. Especially if you are from another galaxy, he could double the price. The Guardians can help us plan a way were that doesn't happen."

Poe put his head down in defeat, knowing Ava was right. It made him think about Leia. How she taught him to understand to think things through before jumping ahead.

Carol cleared her throat. "I would love to help, but I have to take these pirates back to Talos. He's the leader of the Skrulls and I'm in charge of capturing criminals."

Poe kept his head down and remained silent. Ava stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder, where it met the bottom of his neck.

"Hey," She spoke softly and ducked her head, finding his eyes once again. "It's going to be okay, Poe."

After a quiet moment, a mutual comfort of understanding poured into their souls. Her hand on his shoulder almost fell away, until she felt him layer his on top.

"Alright." He nodded with a long sigh.

She returned a warm half smile back. "We'll get them back Poe, I promise." Ava replied tenderly, hoping to be right. Scanning his face, assuring him it would work out. He gave her hand a pat while his face melted into a tiny grin of believing.

"Well," Joise raised an eyebrow. "The best we can do is get you two back to Easik and that won't happen if we keep sitting here."

"Right." Ava let her hand drop from Poe's shoulder and quickly followed her towards the cockpit.

Poe hesitated, but pulled himself to shuffle behind the three women. Ava listened to Carol who kept talking about the news of the Skull vs. Kree war. But as she settled in her seat behind Joise, she glanced over.

Not excepting a warm smile from Poe Dameron in the seat next to her.

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And here we have another chapter! (:

It kind of a filler and short, but more to come soon!

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I'm also thinking of changing the title of this book. I'm still not sure if I actually will do it. But I will keep yall updated.

-marie xx