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"Why do you have to make things look so complicated?"

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Rachel's POV: 26 years later...

With my super-hearing abilities, I heard familiar footsteps approaching as I savored the last bite of my favorite cream berry yogurt. Without hesitation, I turned to face him, "About time, Peter." 

"I know, we got an orb to capture to do." Peter waved it off before he left to shower, allowing me to clean his room, where a pink-skinned lady had been sleeping for who knows how long under the bedsheets and kept snoring. I made a poker face before cleaning Peter's room without touching the bed, leaving the pink-skinned lady undisturbed. I have OCD when it comes to dirty and messy rooms. As I finished tidying up, I couldn't help but wonder how different my life had become since escaping the laboratory all those years ago.

After escaping, I embarked on a journey to find a place where I could belong. During my travels, I met various species and individuals who were kind to me, including Yondu, Peter, and the Ravagers. I made it clear to them that I escaped from prison (which is a lie because I don't want to mention my past)  and would only offer my services if they taught me how to hand over their target. Upon agreeing to the terms, I strategically managed to get the target and earn Yondu's and the rest's respect by calling me "Crypto." 

I wouldn't say I liked the codename at first, but later, I got used to it and began learning their ways, and I started developing skills that I never thought I would have. As time passed, I honed my abilities and became a master of stealth, petty theft, and intelligence: "Hey, you can use the shower now!" Peter called, "OK, I'll meet you outside." I called back; after a quick shower, I noticed the hot water steaming the mirror. I hesitantly used my right metallic paw to swipe it and see my reflection.

"Still the same, except for my haircut last year," I said aloud before taking a towel to dry my entire fur and tail, then later, using a clean brush to brush out my fur with a dryer. With my haircut now thoroughly brushed, that's right, I just got a black, edgy, asymmetrical haircut that makes me look fantastic! Who cares what anyone else thinks? Without wasting a second, I changed into the black gym shorts I created from one of Peter's boxers, a black spaghetti strap top under my baggy sweater, and a bold red sports jacket. I feel great, and I'm ready to take on the world!

The rain setting welcomed us while the entire place was covered in dry dirt and desolated as if a volcano had erupted here; I already wore my nanotech helmet with a shrug by watching Peter go through the rain. Panic rose and shouted, "Quill, don't breathe you-" "It's breathable!" He shouted with a thumbs up, causing me to flip him off in annoyance, "How smart are you again? I forgot!" I could hear Peter jump over his shoulder to hold on since I didn't trust the ground of the abandoned planet of Morag. While Peter walked, he removed his scanner to punch it out to work. 

It finally located where the Orb was as we wandered toward the abandoned temple before us. Peter, however, wondered if I wanted to listen to any music so long as I got to choose it. Upon entering the abandoned temple, I crawled down from Peter's shoulder to click on his mixtape by putting "Come and Get Your Love by RedBone," which made him dance to it and sing like an idiot, 'He is such an idiot. But what can I do? Well, you can't win them, join them.' 

I laughed at the thought before steadily dancing on his shoulder for fun. When we first met, I had become curious about his human species, and we instantly bonded when I heard the taste of his mixtape music throughout his childhood. So, I tried to learn the lyrics, and since I was a quick learner, it was easier than I expected. We enjoyed the music for a while until we got to our destination.

The song ends after I unlock the door with my pin-lock stick and get down from his shoulder to scan the room while holding my E-11 blaster rifle as Peter takes out a small glowing sphere (which can sting like electricity) before we stare at the Orb before taking out an electro-magnet and placing it on the floor to capture the Orb without phasing through its protective barrier, as soon as it was done. Peter picked it up, and unexpected people with weapons welcomed us and pointed at us: "Drop it!" The cyborg man commands, making Peter and me widen our eyes in confusion, "Uh...hey?..." We synced before the other one glared at us.

Then I recognized the other soldiers as Sakaaran soldiers, and they surrounded us like targets that I did not enjoy; fun fact: Being a target makes me feel the adrenaline of fun, "Drop it now!" "Hey, cool, man. No problem. No problem at all." He drops the orb, and the cyborg man picks it up; I glare at Peter before hissing: "You are so gonna get a large scar in the balls for doing this stupidity of yours." I hissed, making him gulp in fear at my threat that we didn't even hear the cyborg man asking us a question.

"How do you even know about this?" He questioned.

"I don't even know what this is," Peter tries telling him with his hands up, "not even my partner knows what it is. We're junkers, man!" I came up and spoke: "We were checking stuff out."

"You don't look like junkers, and you're both wearing Ravager garb!" 

"These are just outfits, man!" He backed me up until one of the Sakaaran soldiers decided to punch the guns on my right arm, causing me to wince at the pain since the wires were tricky to fix. I grip my metal paw onto Peter's pants, enough to get his attention, and he gets pissed: 

"Jackie Chan, you'd better stop doing that!" The Sakaaran stopped, and I patted Peter's leg as a small thank you for defending me when the cyborg man shouted: "What are your names?!" 

"My name is Peter Quill, okay? Dude, chill out." Peter quickly responded.

Later, the cyborg man gestures to me: "And your pet?" 

"The name is Rachel Avery Raccoon, but I'm NOT an 'It'; I'm a female," I answered bitterly at how he called me a pet.

"Move!" 

Peter Quill blinked in disbelief: "Why?" 

"Ronan may have questions for you." He turned to leave, but Peter, the persistent human he is, spoke up: "Hey, you know what? There are other names you might know us by." 

He turns back towards us, mentally preparing myself for Peter's 'hero' name moment to be ruined, "Star-Lord and Crypto." "Who?" 

"Star-Lord and Crypto, man. Legendary outlaws." Peter turns to the Sakaarans to see if they remember us, which I was 100% sure none of the boys knew about us. 

They must have been busy with this cyborg guy's training crap that I bit my tongue from laughing at how this enemy and his goons are stupid since they don't know about our code names: "Guys?" "Move!" "Never mind, I got this," I smirked and muttered. When I suddenly kicked the shock-glow-sphere behind us, it electrocuted the two Sakaarans. Painfully but slowly, Peter pulls out his blasters and shoots the Cyborg man in the chest. It allowed me to grab the orb from the enemy and pick it up as it rolled on the ground. 

Someone tries hoisting their blaster and fires at us; the Cyborg man is still alive, "Tch! Lucky bitch!" I shouted before I jumped onto Peter, which caused me to push him to the ground by accident, and somehow, I was preventing him from getting injured or, worse, dead. 

The blast blows a hole in the wall behind us, making me whistle, "Ooh~ We're so scared!" As a joke, I pretended to be scared, and Peter laughed. He then put his arm around my waist, and we both quickly put on our nanotech helmets. Peter activated his jet boots, and we flew away together while our enemies continued shooting at us. We landed outside with style and slowly descended onto the ashy and wet ground. After a quick recovery, we sprinted across the rugged terrain towards our Milano ship.

We each glance behind ourselves, only to see a cyborg man drop from the temple. We quickly turned back around and continued to run towards Milano, where we ran right into another group of Sakaarans. They all lift their handheld necro blasters and begin to shoot at us. Suddenly, we changed our direction and started running away from the danger. An idea pops up in my mind, and without wasting any time, I take out an electromagnet from Peter's jacket pocket. I wind up my arm and throw the magnet towards the Sakaarans. 

It lands in the middle of them, causing a distraction long enough for the magnet to activate. This causes all the soldiers to be pulled towards it at once, causing them to fall over each other. Peter gives me a high-five as we continue to run away. As we approach the Milano, we spot a rock placed diagonally, which we use as a ramp to climb onto the ship's top. I quickly opened the windshield, and we both jumped inside the Milano and landed on the floor.

After closing the windshield, we removed our helmets and noticed the electromagnet malfunctioning. The Sakaaran soldiers got up, and their leader started giving them instructions. I sat in the co-pilot seat while Peter took the pilot's position. I had already noticed the cyborg man constructing a large Necro blaster to shoot at us. Not wishing to stay any longer, I started the engines while Peter prepared for take-off. The cyborg man fired the first necroblast, and I quickly pulled up to avoid getting hit. I dodged the blasts as I flew the ship away from the cyborg man and his goons.

We blinked once, then twice, before we both laughed at our successful escape from the goons; when we weren't looking, a blast of water shot up from a geyser, knocking our ship into a crazy spiral. Peter was thrown about like crazy. When the Milano is about to crash into the ground, I grab onto the back of my chair and pull the lever that stabilizes us before falling backward again. 

Peter leaned against a wall while I rested on the co-pilot seat with seatbelts still attached to me when the ship stopped spinning, panting. He offers me a fist bump, and I gladly accept. Right then, the same pink-skinned girl stuck her head out of the hatch between the cockpit and the rest of the ship and asked him: "Peter? What happened?" Already a little dizzy from the crazy flying I had managed to pull off, "Hey, uh...uh...I..." he turns to me, his eyes pleading. 

"Bereet," I whisper in his ear. Peter snapped his gloved fingers, thinking he finally remembered her name: "Bereet! Look, I'm going to be honest with you. I forgot you were here." 

Bereet gives him an insulted look.