AN- Some slightly confusing POV switches in this chapter!

3rd Person POV with JJ

Once the Guardians were within the atmosphere of Knowhere, JJ got a ringing alert on her communicator and looked to see Ash was calling her.

After going to the docking area for a little privacy to take the call, she answered with an attempted monotonous,

"You've reached the message box of JJ. To leave a messag-"

*That may have worked on me last time but not this time!* Ash's voice came between laughs and JJ started laughing too before saying,

"Ehh worth a shot." She switched the video on so she could see her sister's face and vice versa, "So how's it goin'?"

*Not much. Dad and I are heading to the mainland for some restocking.*

"No kiddin'? We're doin' the same thing."

*I guess we're still on the same mindset even galaxies apart.*

"Yeah..." JJ's voice lowered a bit as she asked, "Speakin' o' minds, didja have any nightmares last night?"

Ash's face fell and JJ nodded before saying,

"Yeah me too..."

*It's been hard but my Dad's helping me through it as best he can..*

"Ehh my dad usually just says 'suck it up buttercup' but y'know less child friendly now that Groot's growing up now."

*Really? I thought he was still.. a sapling?* Ash questioned and JJ could tell she was looking for anything to talk about so she humored her,

"Yeah I caught'im flexin' his muscles in the bathroom yesterday morning."

*Seriously?* Ash nearly choked on her laughs before a screech rang out in the ship as Quill announced through the intercoms,

*Landing on Knowhere. Prepare to disembark.*

*Quill! Stop trying to sound like the godman!*

*That's not even what I sound like!*

JJ smirked up at the argument going on cuing Ash to ask,

*Oh yeah how's Thor been?*

"Aside from eatin' all our food and then sayin' he's gonna work it all off later, he's been doing alright I guess." JJ shrugged as she went about grabbing her satchel from her room and making sure her units were in the pocket inside.

"Hold on a sec." JJ told her sister as she put the call on hold and asked the others,

"How're we pairin' up this time?"

"Well we shoun't leave Drax and Mantis alone by themselves or Quill and Thor 'therwise they'll try ta off each other.." Rocket started to say and JJ finished with,

"So them four together and the four of us?"

"Yep."

JJ smirked as she, Rocket, Groot, and Nebula got into a group and the others went off with their group, Quill and Thor already arguing with Drax egging them on and Mantis too busy looking at things being sold to care while Gora elected to stay on the ship to guard it.

After walking for a little bit, JJ told her group,

"My guy with the aerogel capsules' over here."

"Just hurry up." Rocket told her as he and Groot went off to an ammunition vendor and Nebula went off on her own.

As JJ walked to the stand she remembered she was still on hold with her sister and resume the video to see her walking with her dad beside her in a big store,

"When'd you-?"

*You're not the only one who travels fast.*

"Hardy har har. Hey Bruce." She gave a small wave through the camera to her sister's dad and he returned the wave with a casual,

*How's it goin'?*

"Just pickin' up some aerogel capsules for my latest bomb design."

*Cool.*

"Bet they don't have those at Price-Co." JJ joked but it went over Bruce's head as he told her,

"Actually it's Costco."

Making JJ want to roll her eyes and Ash stifled some giggles before she asked her dad,

*Can I go see if they've got any new books?*

*Go right ahead kiddo, I'm gonna go grab some snacks for movie night.*

*Yes!* Ash cheered before going off on her own and, on her end, JJ's supplier arrived to give her a mini crate of golf ball-sized, glowing gel-filled capsules and she paid him before heading off.

"So what's on for movie night this time?" JJ asked as she wandered the aisles looking for her dad while putting some of the capsules in her satchel and Ash was seen through the camera to be browsing some stacks of books,

*We're trying to do a 'retro' theme this time so probably some old movies with horrible special effects.* Ash answered with a bit of indecision.

"C'mooon they can't be that ba-"

*BOOM!*

An explosion sounded from Ash's end and the video fizzled causing JJ to start panicking as she yelled,

"Ash what's goin' on down there!?"

Back on Earth, Ash had landed on her side with some of the books from the table on top of her and she blinked dazed before the sound of peoples' screams snapped her back to awakeness.

When she sat up, she looked in the direction of the explosion to see a giant hole in the wall closest to her and an armored figure with their face partially hidden behind a reflective, rectangle-shaped visor goggles stepping over the rubble to walk toward her.

*Ash!* She heard her sister's voice, albeit a bit crackly from the impact, coming through the communicator and she hurriedly pushed the books and rubble aside to look for it and was able to grab it before the figure pulled a blaster out from their belt and shot it toward her, only missing when she ducked and started running.

*Bzzt-at's goin' on?!*

"Somebody's attacking and they won't stop following me!"

*Fight back!*

"I can't, there's still bystanders here!" Ash hid behind a rack of children's clothes and costumes before adding, "Plus I left my staff at the house."

*And ya don't have any 'ther weapons?!* JJ asked in disbelief.

"No?" Ash raised a brow at the question before she heard another explosion and peeked out to see another figure in matching clothing coming through another wall close to her but this one had a scanner in their hands that beeped rapidly when it was pointed in her direction and they looked up to see her there.

"Oh boy!" Ash ran from her hiding spot and had to duck from shots that were fired at her again while also leading them away from stragglers who had yet to evacuate.

*What about your sui-BZZT!*

On JJ's end back on Knowhere she yelped as her communicator short circuited in her hands causing the call the drop before she yelled,

"Ash! Hey! C'moooon!"

Harshly slapping the side of her communicator, she was about to throw it on the ground in frustration when her goggles beeped and she flicked them down to see an alert that a second presence had been on the call frequency that caused the wireless surge that took out the device and were still nearby so she began scanning the area.

As soon as her gaze landed on a being in dark, armored clothing with a reflective visor in the distance, same look as the one she briefly saw in the background on Ash's end, crouching behind a weapons stand she flicked her goggles back up she yelled,

"Hey!"

Causing the being to stand and make a run for it as JJ shouted,

"Get back here!"

Before running after them, jumping over carts and stands in her way, weaving in between other shoppers, and sliding under a large Rhinopus that was being led through the walkway.

She was just about to catch up with the being when they turned back long enough to chuck a disk-like contraption at her and it extended wires to tangle around her legs causing her to fall to the ground at the same time she made a few orbs launch out to strike the being in the back causing them to fall as well.

"Kid!?" Rocket questioned from where he was looking down at her while he was standing on the table of the ammunition vendor's table with a gun he was no doubt looking to purchase in his paws while Groot was trying to balance boxes on his head but they fell when he saw his sister crash in front of him.

"We have to stop them!" JJ reached up to point figure as they were able to get back on their feet to continue running and Rocket grinned as he spoke,

"With pleasure..." Raising the gun he was holding and aiming it at the being.

...

*Clink*

...

Only to reveal it was empty of ammunition when he tried to fire it.

"What?!" He shook the gun before glaring at the vendor who just told him boredly,

"Like I'd load the merch before it's sold."

"Grrr!" Rocket growled impatiently just as JJ had finally managed to untangle her legs from the wires and saw the boxes Groot had been balancing on his head on the floor in front of her and her eyes widened when she read the label,

"'IP Bolts!'"

She grabbed and ripped a box open ignoring the vendor's protest before she grabbed two handfuls of the bullets and quickly tossed them in front of her, using her powers to control the ionized plasma within them to make them fly toward her target before making them all strike the ground in front of them to implode on impact.

"Got'em!" JJ cheered when she saw the being on the ground again and some of their armor was smoldering from the explosions through the dissipating smoke.

JJ, Rocket, and Groot ran up to the being as well as Nebula, since she'd heard the commotion and figured something was up, as they all surrounded the being with their weapons raised as JJ demanded,

"Why're you followin' me? And why'd you cut off my comm with my sister?"

"Heh heh..." The being just chuckled lowly as they got onto their hands and knees and fingered their cracked visor as they spoke, "Your powers have greatly improved... Subject J75-4..."

JJ's blood ran cold at her old label and her stance weakened a bit as the being fully ripped their broken visor off to reveal a familiar face for JJ from how she growled,

"Skodor..."

Rocket and Nebula in particular raised their defenses as they realized this was one of the Oajin scientists who ran experiments on JJ and their protective reflexes kicked in as Nebula asserted,

"Her name is JJ."

And Rocket added in a matching dark tone,

"And you got 'bout 10 seconds before I make ya a smudge on the floor so tell us what yer doin' here...?"

"Let's just say ugh-" Skodor took notice of a large piece of shrapnel that pierced through his armor and was bleeding profusely but continued his mocking tirade, "An old friend can't wait to see you again..."

Before swiftly pulling a cord on their chest plate and a few lights lit up on his chest and a beeping sound started.

"He's rigged!" Rocket shouted and the screams of remaining bystanders sounded as they hurried to get as far away as possible.

Luckily, JJ jumped into action as she thumped her boot down and summoned some orbs to form a hemispherical forcefield around Skodor while also outstretching her hands to add some of her power to reinforce it as she stood her ground, still a few feet in front of him even as he smirked at her but she just glared back.

*BOOM!*

The bomb went off but didn't make it past JJ's force field as the dark cloud of smoke filled the inside and a few seconds later she dropped it and just continued glaring blankly at where Skodor had been a few seconds earlier even as Rocket came over and pointed out,

"Hang on there's no blood...? Or crater?"

"That doesn't seem natural." Nebula stated plainly but there was a hint of apprehension in her voice.

"I am Groot?" (You OK sis?) Groot asked JJ as he put a hand on her shoulder but it didn't snap her out of the state as she continued staring at the blast impact in the ground before her knees shook a little and gave out to harshly drop her into kneel.

"Kid?" Rocket looked up at her in slight worry before she asked blankly,

"Why don't I feel happy?"

The three of them looked at her in question before she continued with,

"He was one of the ones who experimented on me, cut me, shot me, made my life a living hell... so why don't I feel happy now that he's gone?"

"Because while torturers made us suffer, we also know deep down, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be where or who we are now..." Nebula answered with some empathy in her voice.

There was a moment of silence before she remembered Skodor's last words and pushed herself back onto her feet as she urged,

"We need to get to Earth now! If Kryjer's makin' moves like sending him to cut off my comm with Ash and others to ambush her back on Earth, somethin' big is coming..."

"Hey Losers!" Rocket tapped his ear piece to message all the Guardians at once, "We need to get ta Terra A-S frickin' P."

*We'd love to but we got a situation back on the ship...* Quill's voice came through in an ominously serious tone and the four of them look at each other exasperated as JJ groaned,

"What now?"

They all ran back to the ship and met up with the others as they saw what Quill was talking about; the entrance to the ship had been blown open.

"I am Groot?" (Where's Gora?) Groot asked nervously as he looked at some of the scratches along the walls that might've been hers.

"She's over here!" They heard Thor call out from the lower deck navigations area and they hurried down to see him and Mantis kneeling over Gora who was laying on her side with her eyes closed and her antennae lying limply on the ground with her translator broken a few feet away from her.

"What the flarg happened?!" JJ questioned as she kneeled down next to Gora where Mantis was currently placing her hand on her head to try to read her emotions,

"She felt fear at the intruders, determination to keep you and the rest of us safe, and then haaah..." She stopped to take a gasping breath before saying, "An overwhelming sense of guilt before nothing..."

"Nothing's been stolen from our rooms or workshop." Quill reported as he came down from the upper level, Drax right behind him snacking on some Zarg nuts as he added,

"The commissary was untouched."

"Then I fail to see what they accomplished in boarding our ship and taking out one member of our team." Nebula tried to reason before JJ sniffed and smelled something off around them.

"Dad d'ya smell that?"

"It wasn' me!"

"Not like that!" JJ rolled her eyes before Rocket took a sniff and noticed a strange smell before narrowing it down to a small vial that was hidden under a floor plate.

"Wha'dwe have here?" He slipped a paw through to grab it and bring it up to see a label on it, "DH752?"

"What? Lemme see." JJ held a hand out for it and Rocket handed it to her to examine before remembering, "Ash told me 'bout this, said it weakened her, messed wi'h her powers but what's it doin' here?"

"Whatever's going on," Quill spoke up, getting their attention before continuing his statement, "We need to get to Earth to help your sis out."

Before he left to get to the cockpit and about a minute later the ship was heard powering on and lifted a few feet off the ground before an explosion rocked the ship and it fell back to the ground abruptly sending everyone falling to the ground.

"Now that makes more sense." Nebula commented as she had been the only one to remain more or less standing after the ship's drop.

When JJ walked out onto the wing of the ship closest to the ship's thrusters, she saw the remains of an explosive hidden inside the structure before reporting through the comms,

"Someone planted a bomb inside the thruster and connected it to the control system to where it'd detonate when the ship tried ta take off."

*Is the space pod still intact?* Quill asked and JJ walked on the ship's side to the ejection site and saw the pod had been compromised when the explosion went off,

"Nah 'xplosion took it out too."

*What 'bout the backup space pod?*

JJ made an about face before asking,

"We got one'a those?"

*Sure do, come back in I'll show ya.*

JJ walked back around to get inside the ship and was relieved when Gora was awake, albeit looking really disoriented and out of it.

"Are you OK?" JJ asked her and she gave a simple nod as Quill led them all to a small hatch hidden under the staircase leading up to the cockpit and showed them a small dark space that led into the pod as he explained,

"These back up space pods were added to earlier models of M-class ships before they were discontinued cause they were too 'unstable to fly at jump speed.'"

"How likely is it ta get us ta Terra ASAFP?" JJ looked down into the dark hole in thought.

"I'd say there's a.. 80..85% chance-"

"-it makes it?"

"-it crashes."

"I'll take those odds." JJ prepared to jump down into the pod before Rocket caught her arm to stop her as he told her,

"You're not goin' in this unstable crap-ship-"

JJ wrinkled her nose in annoyance before Rocket cracked a smirk and finished,

"-without backup."

"Pod only seats 4." Quill brought up.

"So me and you," JJ started to devise before looking up at her brother, "Groot?"

"I am Groot!" (You know it!) He answered without hesitation.

"Gora.. you feelin' up ta it?" JJ asked carefully and Gora used her spines to lift herself off the ground so she could stand on her shaky paws but her eyes reflected fierce determination as she sharply nodded once.

"Let's get goin' then." JJ hopped down into the pod followed by Rocket and Groot carrying Gora and JJ hit a lit up button that turned on all the lights before they all seated themselves and buckled up as Quill announced through the pod's intercom,

*Just plug in your communicator so we can get the last known coordinates of transmission and I'll set the pod to launch, good luck you guys.*

*Reign victorious over whomever you end up facing!*

*Be safe!*

*Tell Ash I said hi!*

*You idiots better not die!*

JJ smiled as she heard everyone encourage them in the background as the pod fully activated and they could see through the front window of the pod that a hatch leading through the top of the Benatar was opening up so the pod could be aimed for launch.

"Here's to the 15-20% that we survive this." JJ spoke as she looked over at her family before she thumped a boot down to send all her orbs out to line the walls of the pod and made them all connect to each other to make a forcefield around the entire cabin and them.

"Mraow..." (Good call...) Gora mewled out loud since her spines were currently occupied keeping herself anchored to her seat and Rocket noted,

"Oh yeah I gotta-WOAH!"

They all were pressed back into their seats as the pod was launched and they were sent into the blinding tunnel of jump points to get to Earth as the cabin shook and heated up even with JJ's orbs bracing the walls.

Back on Knowhere, the rest of the Guardians watched as the pod left the head's atmosphere and Drax asked,

"What do we do now?"

And Quill considered the question before answering,

"We gotta fix the ship... without our main mechanics..."

Making the whole group groan almost in unison.

...

3rd Person POV on the Daietian

...

"Sir, Skodor's life signal has gone off." A lieutenant reported in as Kryjer was leaning on a table with a body on it watching a monitor close by with another person turned away from them working on another monitor.

"And Lumna?"

"The retrieval team has yet to report back in but we can confirm communications between the two were severed and the Subject is now enroute to C-53 no doubt to aid her."

"All according to plan..." Kryjer grinned maliciously as he noticed the person at the other monitor flinching at this news before ordering, "Set a course for Sector R-85. They'll be there soon enough..."

3660 Words

AN- Fun fact: I was going to have the Guardians' last word in be "I think we're gonna need a new ship..." until I found out they don't get the Bowie until 2025 so I figured I scrap that idea ^^;

Guess who's got final exams this week... : ( I'm also gonna be heading home by bus on the 19th so I'll try to work on another chapter during finals week in between my three final exams so I can try to stick to an update schedule (sorry for the day late post btw ^^; yesterday I wasn't feeling all that great after work)

Other than that, things are starting to get intense and there's plenty more still to come so I hope you all enjoy and feel free to comment what you think's gonna happen.

I'm also going to be posting over on Deviant Art some of the art I've been making in art class as well as my submission for Elijah aka Not-So-Average-Fangirl's "Naughty" music video art contest over on Instagram and Youtube which I highly recommend checking out both her channel and the music video if you haven't already.

Until the next chapter, Bye!