"So, let's get this all straight for the people on this ship," Rocket glanced at Mantis and Drax, "who don't comprehend information very well."

Mantis blinked. "Comprehend? What does that mean?"

"It means to get paid for your hard work." Drax muttered in her ear.

"No, moron, that's compensation." Peter Quill corrected with an eye roll.

"No, Quill, compensation is when the little water drops in the air cool down and form bigger drops." Mantis smiled.

"That's condensation." Rocket rubbed his eyes in irritation.

"I am Groot." Groot muttered.

"Exactly, we're getting off topic." Gamora stated, grabbing everyone's attention. "Nick Fury contacted us and informed us that there was a small scale alien invasion on Earth a few minutes ago. And now Thor, Bruce Banner, Loki, and Shelby are missing. They believe they were taken onto the ship, and since it hasn't left the solar system yet, Fury was wondering if we could help Thor get them out of there." She explained.

"Awww, noooo." Peter whined. "I don't want to work with Thor."

Nebula looked at Quill in confusion. "Why?"

"Thor gives Peter an inferiority complex." Gamora explained.

"He does not!" Quill exclaimed.

"Right, because Thor certainly isn't more handsome than Quill- certainly not more fit and muscular. Certainly isn't a better warrior and overall more badass." Rocket laughed. "And it's not like-"

"Okay, enough." Nebula muttered. "We're approaching the ship now."

Everyone who wasn't sitting found their seats as Rocket initiated cloaking, keeping them from being picked up by the ship's radar. As they got closer, Gamora pursed her lips. "This looks like a Timor ship. That's not good."

"I am Groot?" Groot inquired.

"The Timoribus lived on a small moon at one point, but after my father wiped out half of their population, they no longer had enough people to keep a functioning society. I mean, they were a small population to begin with. It was so wrong..." She shook her head, before gathering herself. "They ended up abandoning their ruined civilization and took to becoming space pirates, moving from planet to planet to collect supplies and fuel."

"You left out the best part, sister." Nebula muttered. "The Timoribus use the hormones produced by the fear reactions of other species to fuel their ships."

"Why? That's, like, so unnecessary." Quill grimaced.

"Eh, sounds like free fuel to me." Rocket shrugged.

"So you think that is where Thor is? Having the hormones scared out of him?" Mantis asked.

"Very likely." Nebula nodded.

"Well, crew, then there's no time to waste." Quill stated. "Let's go save this helpless, overly muscular space child."

The ship carefully hooked itself to the side of the Timor ship, and carefully, Rocket sliced through the metal siding, and the Guardians boarded the bottom level of the ship.

"Communicators on, everyone." Quill directed. "We're splitting up. Rocket, you'll take Groot and search for the hostages. Nebula, you'll be with Drax and Mantis and you'll gather up any civilian Timoribus we can find on the ship. Do not engage unless it's absolutely necessary."

Nebula's jaw clenched. "You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious- which leaves me and Gamora, who will take down the ones driving this thing and see if we can't reroute it to a safe destination." Quill finished. "Ready? And..." He put in hand in the middle of the group to do a before mission cheer. When no one joined him, he lifted his hand up and out quickly. "Break! Let's go team!"

With that, Peter, Gamora, Nebula, Drax, and Mantis made their way upstairs, while Rocket and Groot stayed on the otherwise abandoned bottom floor.

"I am Groot?" Groot asked.

"We're not going with them because the engine room is usually on the bottom of the ship, with the fuel supply not too far away." Rocket explained. "And if these freaks really use people's fear to run their ship, I bet we'll find Thor and the others somewhere down here."

Groot nodded slowly as he and Rocket stayed close to the wall, slightly concealed in the shadows. As they continued through the hallway, they pasted the fiery engines, powering the ship through empty space. Rocket scampering forward, before spotting a glass wall with several large, metal canisters, guarded by what appeared to be two zombies- Rocket physically shuttered when he realized it was Gamora and Peter.

"I am Groot..." Groot whispered fearfully.

"Don't worry, Groot, that's not really what they look like. It's mind trick." Rocket took an aim with his pistols, aiming for one of their heads. He shot, and then shot the other one while they were distracted, and before they could sound alarm. He got chills when the Timoribus' didn't lose the appearance of his zombified friends, but he figured it was just some weird ability they had. "Come on." He muttered, both to himself and Groot, before entering the fuel room.

The metal canisters contained different species of aliens, all of which appeared dead, though monitors on the side of the tanks showed that there were brainwaves present. None of them were the hostages the Guardians had been sent for, but they were hostages none-the-less.

"Groot, work on opening these bad boys up." Rocket began, walking along side the tanks, searching for the four that contained Thor, Loki, Banner, and Shelby.

Finally, as Groot's evergrowing fingers infiltrated the control board and sent the tank system haywire, Rocket found himself in the back of the room, facing three canisters. In the first one was the girl he had saw at Stark's house party months ago- she could only be Shelby. She didn't appear dead, like the other hostages, only weak. She sat curled in the back of the canister, legs and arms crossed, her cheek resting on the surface of her arms. Her eyes looked like they were experiencing a whole other world; and it looked like she had been crying for a long time.

In the next canister was a blue creature. He sat in the middle of the canister, sitting criss-cross on the floor, staring at his hands. Rocket personally didn't recognize him, but he knew from his conversations with Thor that Loki was not Asgardian, but a Frost giant. And Rocket knew what a Frost giant looked like- even if this one was tiny. In the last canister was Thor himself. The glass his hands rested on had began to crack, but it looked like Thor had given up fighting his way out- his head hung, and his face was despondent.

"Thor!" Rocket called to him, knocking on the glass, but there was no response. Thor was lost in his own world.

Rocket turned to see Groot approaching. On the floor behind him laid the other creatures he had been freeing, beginning to stir and come to. "Oh, come on, Groot, you just let them fall flat on their faces? They can't catch themselves if they're in a coma!" Rocket rolled his eyes. He usually wasn't a sentimental guy who cared much about the well-being of others. But if whatever the Timoribus had done broke Thor, he can't imagine how broken these other beings were.

"I am Groot." Groot complained.

"Whatever, just get over here and free Thor already." Rocket snapped. Groot muttered something under his breath as he placed his hand on the control board. His fingers lengthened and infiltrated the circuits. Within a few seconds, and with a couple sparks of protest, the canister's system failed, and the glass door opened, spilling Thor onto the floor.

This seemed to snap the god awake. He jumped up, looking around frantically. When his eyes finally landed on Rocket, he stared at him for a moment before blinking. "This- where are the others?"

Rocket pointed to the two canisters to the right. Thor rushed to them, staring inside at Loki and Shelby in relief. "They aren't being tortured to death!" He celebrated.

"Ah, well, physically, no." Rocket shook his head as Groot worked to free Loki.

Once the system failed, Thor stepped inside the tank and stooped down, grabbing his brother's hand. "Brother, snap out of it!" He whispered urgently. Loki's eyes flinted back and forth in confusion as he snapped out of it, before looking up at Thor with wide, red eyes.

"You came back." He managed to say in relief.

Thor patted his brother on his shoulder, flashing a tight smile. "I never left." He stated, before helping Loki to his feet.

Loki relaxed noticeably at this statement, before his eyes trailed to Shelby's canister, which Groot opened. Both Loki and Thor reached inside and helped Shelby to her feet.

Shelby looked dazed as the movement brought her back to reality, her eyes bouncing back and forth between Thor and Loki in confusion. "Does this mean..." Her voice trailed as her eyes finally landed on Loki, "that you're back on our side now?"

"I'll always be on your side." Loki promised. Shelby smiled in relief, melting into Thor and Loki as the three embraced.

"Okay, lovebirds, this is all very nice and touching," Rocket began as lights began to flash red above them, "but we're on a mission. Where's Bruce Banner?"

"They took him away." Shelby stated as the hug broke apart. "He wasn't an identifiable species or something like that."

"He'll likely be located in some sort of laboratory." Thor nodded.

"Let's get these creatures to safety and find Banner, then." Loki concluded.

"I am Groot." Groot muttered matter-of-factly.

"Ah, silly tree. You and the rabbit don't need to protect the entire group, because I," a surge of electricity danced across Thor's body, "am at full power."

Loki smiled slyly, and his blue skin disappeared behind a facade of pale, peach toned skin. Shelby looked at the two brothers, frowning. "And now I'm back to being the most unuseful." She stated in defeat.

"All rightly, curly-q. Take this." Rocket threw his extra laser pistol up to Shelby, who caught it enthusiastically.

"Oh hell yeah." She smiled, practicing her aim at the wall with glee.

"Okay, here's the plan." Rocket began, speaking loudly. "Timoribus will probably be here any minute. Loki, you're coming with me and Groot to find Bruce. Thor and Shelby, you'll take the other hostages back to our ship, and keep them safe until we return."

"Saving civilians is my speciality." Thor smiled, before stepping forward to address the several species scattered before him. Most were conscious, but a couple still lay completely vegetative on the floor. "Attention, my friends. I am Thor Odinson. My rabbit friend has saved you from the terrible Timoribus, and we will now lead you to safety." He stated valiantly. His Allspeak allowed for every creature in front of him to understand what he was saying, and many sighed in relief.

With that, the group split; Rocket directed Thor, Shelby, and their new friends to the Guardian's ship. Rocket, Groot, and Loki continued on.

"Any idea where we would find this laboratory?" Loki inquired.

"I mean, the Timoribus are already aware that we're on the ship- why don't we just do a quick interrogation of one?" Rocket suggested.

"I am Groot." Groot stated.

"Leave the motivation to speak to me." Loki assured Groot, before shimmering green and transforming, making Rocket and Groot's stomachs drop. Before them stood a perfect replication of Thanos.

"The Timoribus were slaughtered by Thanos, were they not?" Loki inquired, his voice sounding exactly like Thanos's. When Rocket nodded, Loki flashed a disturbing smile. "What? Is this in poor taste?"

"Not for them." Rocket decided. "Let's find one of these sons-of-bitches."

The plan worked like clockwork. Within a couple minutes, the odd trio ran into a band of Timoribus searching the ship. Upon seeing the illusion of Thanos, they lost their minds and shot wildly, though Loki's shield made him untouchable. Focused only on Loki, Rocket and Groot finished off all but one Timor, who was able to guide "Thanos" to the laboratory where Bruce was being kept. Even more Timoribus were located in the lab, protecting and testing the unknown specimen. They were all quickly dispatched.

Bruce, strapped to the table, sweating from a recent detransformation, completely exhausted, only looked more disturbed upon seeing Thanos. "What the hell is happening today?" He demanded in exasperation.

"Have no fear, Banner." Loki spoke, before transforming back into himself. "It's only an old friend."

"Well, I hate to be rude, but I'm not exactly sure you're much better." Bruce stated, though he relaxed considerably as he was released from his restraints.

That's when the power shut down temporarily, before restarting. The alarm was no longer sounding, and over the ship's speaker, the voice of Peter Quill came through. "Oh, however the tables have turned. The pirates... Become the pirated."

"Idiot." Rocket muttered.

"Don't be scared, but we have taken over your ship. Trust me, this is for the better- I don't know if you realize it, but it's really, really wrong to slowly drain the life out of people just because you guys are scary looking. There are plenty of scary looking people who live completely normal liv-"

There was a loud slapping sound and a complaint, before a female voice sounded over the system. "We will be guiding your ship with whatever fuel you have left in your reserves to a refugee plant near by. There you will be able to live peacefully without having to raid other civilizations of supplies and their people."

"That's all she wrote, I suppose." Rocket sighed. "Let's get you guys back to our ship."

~~~~~

Back on the Guardian'w ship, Thor, Shelby, and the other hostages were waiting patiently, surrounded by the bodies of many charred Timoribus that had tried to rid themselves of the parasitic ship. Soon, Peter and Gamora joined them.

"The soldiers that weren't killed were disarmed, and the weapons are stashed away and being guarded by Nebula, so I think we're safe." Gamora reported, before turning to Rocket. "We're going to take this ship to Togica. Think you can handle transporting all the civilians back to their home planet?"

"The suggestion that there's a possibility that I can't handlee that is utterly insulting." Rocket shook his head. "Of course, I can handle it. Now get out of here so I can get it over it."

"Roger that, Rocket. Glad to know we can save the much lesser heroes on earth, that aren't nearly as powerful as me and not nearly as handsome." Peter stated, sending a challenging glance at Thor.

Thor shook his head in disappointment. "You should not speak about Shelby like that when she's standing right here." Shelby just shrugged.

With that, Peter and Gamora left their ship, and Rocket detached from the Timor ship, steering in the direction of their first stop- Earth.

Exhausted and finally able to relax, Bruce, Thor, Loki, and Shelby all sat together in the bottom of the ship, leaning on one another with their eyes half closed, threatening to droop shut any second.

"Just for the record, Bruce, I am not down for any experimenting when we get back." Shelby mutttered.

"Don't worry, I second that notation." Bruce replied.

"What a crazy adventure." Thor shook his head. "The vision I had in that fuel room... it was a nightmare I never want to relive again."

"You guys make it sound like I got off easy with the physical torture." Bruce commented.

"It was definitely taxing." Shelby whispered.

"We shouldn't talk about it yet." Loki suggested. "Let's just... rest. If only for a moment."

It only took the group a couple minutes to fall asleep.