╔═════════╗
𝑺𝑼𝑹𝑽𝑰𝑽𝑶𝑹
-𝒔𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏
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thirteen.
hiccup
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❝I LIKE THE WAY THEY
ALL. . .SCREAM. TELL ME
WHICH ONE IS WORSE;
LIVING OR DYING FIRST.❞

⋆

          JANE awoke, her eyes slowly fluttering open. She slowly arose from her comfy bed, lightly smiling from the peaceful sleep she had. Gracefully, she rose to her feet.

Behind her, Lexi and Rocket were crouched at the head of the bed. Rocket slowly walked out, following Jane with his gadget raised.

          JANE screamed as Rocket prodded her and Lexi rushed past her, accidentally bumping shoulders. She half-turned her body as she slipped out of her bedroom. "Sorry, y-your Highness!"

"We gotta go!" Rocket yelled, running on all fours. Behind them, a fleet of soldiers were hot on their tails.

"We better haul ass!" Lexi laughed, sprinting down the golden hallway.

She loved this feeling; the adrenaline rush of escaping something or someone. Lexi thought of it more as a hobby she constantly did with Peter. A wide smile stretched on her lips.

Lexi's leather boots screeched against the polished floor as the two Guardians rounded the corner ahead of them.

"Thor!" Rocket yelled at the top of his lungs, "We got it!"

"Rocket, jump!" Lexi yelled, holding out her arms. The raccoon didn't think twice, leaping on his hind legs into Lexi's arms. She lifted him up, placing him on her shoulders as she tried to pick up speed. Lexi didn't want the risk of Rocket getting tired and slowing down with the Reality Stone.

Rocket gripped tightly onto her jacket, glancing back at the crowd they'd drawn.

"Where the hell did he go?!" Lexi cried, looking back and forth as she continued to turn down various corridors.

"Try over there!" Rocket replied, pointing off towards a random room. Lexi twisted her feet, heading in that direction. When they neared the doors, Lexi turned her shoulder that Rocket wasn't occupying, butting it open.

Lexi stumbled to a stop when she spotted Thor with his mother, grateful for no more running. Rocket jumped off her shoulders, stopping to look up at Thor's mother. "H-Hi. You must be Mom."

"Very nice to meet you...Mrs. Odinson." Lexi huffed, gripping her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

Frigga smiled at the two, offering them a wave.

Rocket held up his gadget, the device now showing red. "I got the thing, we gotta go."

Thor turned back to his mother, "I wish we had more time."

Frigga grabbed Thor's hands. "This was a gift. Go be the man you're meant to be."

Thor smiled. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you." She drew him in for a hug. Lexi smiled, shifting her weight to one foot. After a long moment, Thor stepped away from her. Frigga held her hand out. "And, eat a salad."

"C'mon, we gotta go." Rocket reminded him, starting to tinker with his time-travel watch.

"Yeah, those tight-asses on hot on our trail." Lexi sighed, jabbing a finger over her shoulder.

"Three, two..." Rocket started to count before Thor's eyes widened.

"No, wait!"

"What is it?" Lexi asked, brows furrowing. Thor didn't respond before holding up his hand out the window.

"What am I looking at?" Rocket shook his head.

"Yeah...the hell you doing?" Lexi commented, shrugging.

Frigga held up a finger. "Oh, sometimes it takes a second."

Thor closed his eyes, waiting longingly. After a moment, he felt a sudden weight in his hand and he opened his eyes to see Mjolnir in his fist. He laughed, tears stinging his eyes.

He tossed the hammer in his hands, "I'm still worthy."

Rocket shook his head, focusing back on his watch. "Oh boy..."

Their white suits formed over their clothing, and in a flash they were gone.

          HOLLY could hear the song in her head. Come And Get Your Love by Redbone...

A classic, she thought with a smile.

Opening her eyes again, she peeked over the rock and frowned. She watched a guy by the name of Peter Quill dance horribly to the song...let alone sing it.

"Okay...He's totally butchering the song." Holly commented bitterly, rolling her eyes.

Another figure popped their heads from the door Peter emerged from. Holly assumed it was the other person they were waiting on; Lexi Cole.

Lexi looked around the abandoned area. She watched, unamused as Peter sang and danced around in his own little world.

Holly narrowed her eyes before lowered back down into a crouch and hiding from view.

"So they're both idiots?" Rhodey asked, though sounding like a statement. Nebula nodded, looking away.

"Okay, I can't take this. He's not going to ruin this song for me," Holly grumbled as she lifted to her full height. Rhodey and Nebula followed and the three advanced.

As Peter slid across another pile of mud, Rhodey swung his arm upward, hitting him in the face and knocking him out cold.

Lexi appeared second and took in the sight. Before she was even able to reach for her weapon, Rhodey fired his repulsor at her, also hitting her unconscious.

Nebula bent over Peter, searching his coat before pulling out a needle-looking gadget. She held it up, inspecting it.

"What's that?"

"The tool of a thief." Nebula replied to Rhodey before turning and making her way towards the large doors behind them.

In under ten seconds, Nebula was able to unlock the doors, making Holly very impressed. She didn't have a hot clue about anything other than Earth. This was more Carol's job.

When Nebula and Holly went to step forward, Rhodey shot out a hand. "Woah, woah, woah."

"What?" Holly asked in slight annoyance.

"This is the part, y'know, where spikes come out." He replied, mimicking his words. "With skeletons on the end of them."

Holly thought for a moment before backing away. She gasped, "True..."

"What are you talking about?" Nebula questioned.

"When you break into a place called the Temple of The Power Stone, there's gonna be a bunch of booby traps—okay," Rhodey cut himself off as Nebula ignored him and walked in.

Nebula stood in front of the cage that held the Orb. Rhodey and Holly watched behind her. Nebula reached up with her bionic arm, ignoring the burning lasers that protected the Stone. When her fingers passed the barrier, the metal instantly shone hot red.

Holly and Rhodey shared an uneasy look as Nebula pulled the Orb out and turned to them. Nebula dropped it in Rhodey's hand before lifting her burning limb to blow it off.

They all paused, silently looking between one another. Nebula lowered her hand, as well as her eyes. "I wasn't always like this."

"Me neither." Rhodey replied, nodding. "Work with what we got, right?"

Nebula glanced at Holly, who offered a sympathetic yet friendly smile. "If it helps anything, I'm really proud of how far you've come."

Nebula nodded back once, shifting her gaze again.

"Let's sync up." Rhodey mumbled and they all lifted their wrists. The white quantum suits formed over their clothing.

"Ready?" Holly asked. "Three, two, one."

Rhodey and Holly successfully pressed their watches together, disappearing. Nebula choked, freezing as her head started to hurt. She stumbled, unable to do anything as she felt her mind and memories being manipulated.

She collapsed to the ground, eyes wide as her memories played holographically in front of her.