〘 :*¨༺ 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞 ༻¨*: 〙

"Let's go save our friend."

ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ : ▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯▯

" i wish i was special
but i'm a creep
i'm a weirdo "

WITH THE SOUND of Creep playing over the speakers on Knowhere, Ellie sighed, quietly mouthing the words to herself.

"Little bit further down Groot," She instructed, helping Groot and Blake hang a store sign up. Groot brought the sign down slightly on his end, looking over his shoulder for the girl's approval. She gave him two thumbs up. "Perfect big guy,"

Groot smiled, attaching the sign.

"What about my side?" Blake asked, raising his brows at her expectantly. Ellie put a fist to her chin, squinting her eyes and tilting her head.

"It's good,"

Blake frowned, attaching his side of the sign. Groot chuckled at him, his branches retreating.

"I am Groot,"

Blake gaped at him, climbing down from the ladder. "Just because she said yours was perfect doesn't mean she likes you better than me,"

Groot shrugged. "I am Groot,"

Blake scoffed a gasp at him.

Ellie laughed, grabbing Blake's hand and looping her other arm around his.

"Don't worry pretty boy," She kissed his shoulder, "I like you the most."

Once Blake looked away, smiling contently, Ellie turned to Groot, shaking her head jokingly.

"Oh, shit," Blake muttered, making the others turn their heads in the direction he was looking.

Nebula was carrying a passed-out Peter in her arms, his body limp and mouth gaping open. Rocket sighed, sipping on his drink whilst walking beside Nebula and walking out of the bar.

"Not again," Ellie uttered pitifully. Peter being so drunk to the point of fainting had become a recurring event on Knowhere since they had arrived.

The couple had followed everyone to the bottom of the stairs leading to Peter's apartment. They had gone up the steps and stood against the railing outside his apartment window.

Ellie frowned at the man now peacefully sleeping on his bed, worry swirling in her chest.

"I wish I could help him," Blake said, turning away from the window and leaning his arms on the edge of the railing. Ellie turned to him, leaning her hip against the metal bar whilst rubbing her hand in circles on Blake's back.

"It doesn't all rely on you Blake. Quill has all of us here to try and help him." Ellie reminded him, glancing at the crew at the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, but I've been where he is." Blake countered. He turned his gaze from his folded hands to her. His eyes flashed with sadness and a frown playing on his lips. "I know how he feels. I felt it for five years and couldn't get rid of it."

Ellie bit on the inside of her lip and placed the bottom of her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," She whispered. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him.

He rarely talked about it, but when she had first gotten back he had opened up. He told her of his bad drinking habits, the reckless bar fights, hearing her voice in his head, hallucinating that she was there in front of him, and the pain of his memories. It sounded awful, she could hardly bear even the thought of it.

Blake shut his eyes, leaning his forehead against hers. "I got you back. That's all that matters."

Ellie put her hand to his neck, leaning away from him. "I love you,"

The corner of his lips tugged up, eyes flickering to her lips. "I love you too,"

Just as their lips were about to meet, the sound of clunking metal underneath them startled them apart from each other.

They looked down at their feet to see Rocket hanging upside down on the other side of the metal floor.

"All right love birds," he said, hands on his hips. "Date's over, come on,"

"How are those gravity boots working Rocket?" Ellie asked, smirking down at him while Blake rolled his eyes. They were adults and her dad was still up his ass.

"They're working great Els, thanks for asking."

She hummed, squinting down at him. She grabbed Blake by the hand, dragging him to the stairs.

"Telekinesis s cheating!" They heard Kraglin yell as they exited from the door to the stairs. "That's a stupid little pebble! I could do that with my dang finger!" He looked down at Cosmo with a glare. "You're a bad dog."

Cosmo, who had been happily panting after her success, grunted with a whine up at Kraglin. "Do not say that to me." She commanded, her Russian voice speaking through her suit speakers.

Kraglin shrugged. "You are. You're a bad dog."

"Take that back," Cosmo begged, following Kraglin. "That's not cool." Cosmo looked up at Ellie, who walked beside the dog. "Ellie, did you hear? He called me a bad dog and he refused to take it back."

Ellie hit Kraglin's shoulder with the back of her hand. "Kraglin, take it back and apologize to Cosmo."

Kraglin raised his chin. "No,"

"Take it back!" Cosmo shouted.

"Is Peter okay?" Mantis asked Nebula, breaking the argument.

"I don't know," Nebula shook her head.

They walked up to a kabob stand, Nebula nodding her head at the man behind the counter.

Mantis pulled on her fingers in front of her. "What are you going to do?"

"Me? He's your brother."

Mantis raised her shoulders. "It doesn't matter, he still doesn't listen to me."

"Or me," Blake chimed in, standing behind Ellie. Nebula handed kabobs to Mantis to hand out to the group.

"Yeah, he has been pretty mopey ever since Gamora died." Kraglin sighed.

Ellie bit on her lip, casting her gaze down to her feet. Blake squeezed her shoulder, handing her a kabob.

"She's not dead." Nebula reminded him. Nebula tossed a kabob into the air for Cosmo to catch. "She just doesn't remember anything from the past few years.

"Nobody tells me nothing," Kraglin muttered as the group walked away from the stand, munching on their food.

"Mantis, why don't you just touch him and, you know, make him happy?" Rocket suggested.

Ellie grimaced. "Ew, Rocket!"

"I am Groot?"

"Gross!" Mantis protested while the others grumbled their distaste.

"No, not like that. Touch him with her powers." Rocket emphasized.

Mantis shook her head. "It is wrong to manipulate the feelings of friends."

"What about that time you made me fall in love with my sock?" Drax questioned.

"Well, that was funny."

"Sure was," Ellie chuckled, bumping fists with Mantis.

Drax bit into his kabob. "I guess it's back to one of us touching him the other way. Maybe we should draw straws."

Nebula shook her head. "No one ever meant that, Drax."

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

"GOOD JOB COSMO," Ellie praised, grabbing the large stick from the dog's mouth. Cosmo panted, her tail wagging quickly from side to side in anticipation. Ellie threw the stick once more, watching Cosmo dash after.

She jumped at the loud crash of breaking glass above her head. Whipping her head up, she caught the end of something flying through the air and into the buildings.

"What the hell?" She questioned.

Blake rushed to her side. "What was that?" Blake asked from beside her.

Nebula rushed out with her pack on, the jets igniting to life. She flew into the air, raising her arm to create a blaster.

"On the ground!" She demanded someone or something in the room. They heard a shout before a man jumped towards Nebula. Ellie tightened her hands into fists to prepare but Nebula blasted him into a wall.

She disappeared from the couple's sight, landing on the roof of the building ahead of them. Just as a wave of silence fell over, Nebula was tackled to the ground below.

Blake grabbed Ellie by the arm, pulling her away from the crash. The citizens screamed, shouting for the manic gold-skinned man to stop while he punched Nebula.

"We got to go, come on." Blake urged, pulling Ellie by the arm. They rushed into their armory, quickly typing in the codes for the weapon racks.

Ellie hopped on her feet, trying to quickly warm herself up for the fight.

"Who is that maniac?" Blake asked Rocket as he ran into the armory, grabbing a couple of blasters.

"Some super douche with ray gun hands." He answered, throwing his arms out. "I don't frickin' know."

"Are you okay?" Ellie asked, furrowing her brows at his lack of a shirt.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The raccoon reassured, waving his hand at her. "The maniac flew into my room from the window and attacked me. Called me a frickin' squirrel. What the hell even is that?"

Blake shrugged. "I don't know, but we gotta hurry." He urged, glancing at the opening where debris dusted in.

Ellie worried for the civilians but didn't hear any more screams over the sound of falling rubble.

Blake tossed Rocket a large gun, letting him load it while Blake pocketed a few pistols.

Their heads whipped around at the sound of the armory door sliding open. The man raised his hand which began to glow a bright yellow light. Ellie's gaze whipped to Rocket, who still had his back to him whilst the man aimed at him.

"Rocket!" She shouted but was too late when the man fired a blast from his fist at him. Rocket groaned, hitting a pile of boxes in the corner.

Furious, Ellie faced the gold man. She dropped down to the metal crate of the flooring and webbed her fingers through. Shouting, Ellie's hair crackled blue and stood up, her electricity flowing through the floor to the man. It wrapped around his body, making him seize only slightly compared to the regular electrocution Ellie was able to infuse.

She groaned to push her abilities harder, sparks flying from her hair and body with electricity crackling across her irises. The man took a couple of shaky steps towards her. Groaning in pain, he slowly raised his fist once more.

As it began to glow, Blake blasted him, making him stumble back. Peter appeared from the hall, joining his younger brother's side to blast him out of the room.

Ellie glanced over her shoulder, finding Rocket still on the ground shaking with blood pooling down his fur. Immediately, she let go of the gold man, pulling her hands from the floor and crawling over to Rocket.

"Rocket?" She called, her throat tightening. Her hair relaxed as the friction of her electricity deflated around her. Rocket panted for air, foaming at the corner of his mouth. "Rocket?" She cried, assessing his injury. His chest was bleeding, the metal beneath his fur wrecked somehow. Ellie quickly placed her hand over the spot in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." She repeated, trying to think of something to help him. She leaned towards his face, trying to catch his eyes. His small body jerked over his choking and wheezing.

Ellie sucked in her lips as tears flooded her vision.

"Blake!" She cried, finally thinking of something useful. "Blake!"

Blake and Peter whipped around at her cries, the pair having found themselves just outside the armory after Drax pulled the gold man away to fight.

The men gasped at the sight they found the girl and Rocket, freezing in their rush.

Ellie looked over her shoulder at them, shouting in panic. "We need Med-Paks!" Blake and Peter nodded, looking around to try and remember where they were.

Blake hit Peter repeatedly on the shoulder, guiding the man over. "Over there, in the cabinet."

Ellie turned back to Rocket, rocking slightly on her knees. "Stay with me. Please," She begged through her tears. Rocket met her eyes, his face wincing in pain as he choked for air. His eyes went back up to the ceiling with Ellie's cries.

"Hurry!" She cried over her shoulder. Blake and Peter landed on the other side of the Rocket, Med-Paks falling out of their arms. Peter ripped open a Med-Pak, getting it ready.

He and Ellie shared a glance, the older man nodding his head to her. Reluctantly she pulled her hands away from Rocket's chest to let Peter lay the Med-Pak across Rocket.

Peter pressed the red button to start the Med-Pak, but instead of the usual green field to heal the electricity crackled. Rocket groaned in pain, jerking as sparks flew from the Med-Pak and the metal plates on his chest.

"Stop it! Stop! No!" Ellie cried.

"What the hell did you do?" Blake shouted at Peter, who looked around in panic.

"All I did was activate the Med-Paks!" Peter argued, looking at Nebula, who ran through the entrance.

    "Stop it!" Ellie sobbed.

"Get them off! Now!" Nebula ordered.

Blake reached across Peter and pulled the Med-Pak off. Rocket's chest was no longer bleeding but his skin and fur were burnt, traces of black littering his fur. Rocket panted, his eyes fluttering.

"Blake," Ellie hiccuped, looking at him.

Blake nodded, taking quick breaths. "I got him. I got him." He shifted on his knees, scooping Rocket into his arms.

Peter put his hand on Blake's back, looking at Nebula. "We need to get him to the Med-Bay!"

"It was destroyed. There's one on the ship."

Mantis ran into the room, grabbing Ellie by the arm and guiding her along the rest of the group.

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

"A KILL SWITCH?" Peter questioned.

Rocket lay on the bed in the Med-Bay on the guardian's ship, with the guardians standing around its edges. Ellie sniffled, whipping underneath her eyes with one hand while the other was wrapped delicately around Rocket's paw.

An oxygen mask covered his nose and mouth with wires connecting to the X-ray across his chest. Ellie watched his heart pump, a metal device attached to it.

"A device set to destruct if anyone goes poking around inside him, or even if we use the Med-Paks," Nebula informed them, her plate connected to Rocket's information through a wire attached to her skull. Her eyes were black, Rocket's coding reading over her eyes.

"And why would Rocket have a kill switch?" Blake asked, shifting his weight on his feet while his gaze bounced between Rocket and Ellie nervously.

"Apparently, someone considers him proprietary technology and sent that golden lunatic to get him."

"So, he'll die if we operate on him?" Mantis questioned.

"And he'll die if we don't," Drax added.

Peter looked at Nebula for more information. "There has to be some way to bypass it."

"It looks like there's a passkey that could override the kill switch," Nebula told them.

"What do we know about where Rocket came from?" Mantis asked.

Silence fell over them, Ellie's gaze flickering from Rocket for the first time to look at the eyes staring at her. Every guardian, but Nebula looked to her for answers, all knowing that if anyone knew it would be her.

Ellie craned her neck to look up at Blake beside her, lightly shaking her head.

"He doesn't talk about it." She muttered, her voice barely over a whisper.

She understood what happened to him, but she didn't know who had done it to him. She didn't know who had put anything into him. The thought made her think of her own past for a fleeting thought. She looked back down at Rocket, placing her hand on her chest, watching the device pump against his heart.

"Much of the tech was developed by a company called OrgoCorp. And there's a code on all of it, 89P13. He's got maybe 48 hours."

The young girl followed after Rocket as he stepped out. She carefully stepped out of the cage opening, her body shaking in fear.

"There you go." Rocket smiled. She glanced around, seeing a plate on the edge of her cage. The name she had heard her entire life staring back at her.

ID: 156

Ellie sharply inhaled, her eyes blinking rapidly. Her odd moment had been covered up by the news, the girl the only one to be left questioning what the hell just happened to her.

"His subject number," She muttered to herself, her whisper unheard by anyone's ears.

Peter stormed out of the Med-Bay, making the others follow after him. Ellie glanced back at Rocket a final time, lightly squeezing his hand before following the others.

Nebula pulled the wire from her plate and set it down. "Where are you going?"

"OrgoCorp have to have records, right? Maybe they'll have a way for us to override the kill switch and save Rocket." Peter explained shortly, making their way to the cockpit.

"They won't just give us that information." Mantis reasoned.

Peter didn't hesitate. "Well, that's why we're gonna break in."

"And we kill anyone who gets in our way!" Drax roared.

"Not kill anyone," Blake added calmly.

Drax shrugged. "Kill a few people."

"Kill no people." The Quill brothers responded in unison.

"Kill one guy, one stupid guy who no one loves."

Peter grimaced. "Now you're just making it sad."

Expression hard and body stiff, Ellie sat in her usual seat, tapping away on her screens to prepare for the flight.

"Hey," Blake put his hand on the shoulder of her chair. Ellie paused, craning her neck to look up at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

Ellie waited before answering, eyes dancing between his. Her nerves, anger, sadness, worry, and panic all eased in the warmth of his stare and the touch of his hand on hers.

She nodded her head. "I will be once he is." She answered. "He was the first to save me..." She took a deep breath, turning back to her console. "-to ever care for me." She types away once more, focusing back on the flight ahead. "I'll be damned if I don't get to save him in return."

Blake nodded, kissing the girl on top of her head before going to strap himself into his seat across from hers.

"I located the coordinates for OrgoCorp. I think I have a contact near there. Maybe they can help us get in." Nebula informed.

"Contact him," Peter ordered, boosting the ship on. Peter looked over his shoulder to Ellie's seat. Ellie looked at him after staring at Rocket's empty spot on the ship. They nodded at each other.

Ellie looked ahead as the ship lifted off the landing post.

"Let's go save our friend."