- Why the long face, Cap? Let me guess, you're thinking about HER again, aren't you?
Cap looked up at Rocket with a groan. Of course Peggy's on his mind at any given moment but that raccoon (or a space being that resembles a raccoon at any rate) just had to kill his me time.
- Yeah, maybe. I was actually wondering about what to watch on the TV today.
- Good luck on finding anything worthwhile to watch I suppose. After the Snap, it's either all reruns or testimonials from family members milking you for sympathy.
Cap swiped off a sweat from his brow. Rocket did have point at least. The world has changed as the result of the Snap but contrary to Thanos' ideals, things have actually become WORSE in the long run. Productions have ground to halt, families have been scattered and so on. How he has ever expected anyone to be 'grateful' for his actions was completely lost on him though it shouldn't come as a surprise that such megalomaniacs would have such strange thought processes. Rhodey then entered the room.
- Hi Rhodey, how are you doing today?
- I'm doing just fine. Just today paid a visit to Tony Stark.
- What, is he still tinkering with those tin cans of his? Rocket inquired.
- He does tinker with suits on occasion, yes. But he's also busy being a loving dad to his daughter Morgan.
- Tony's a family man nowadays? Cap said.
- Yup, he's totally settled down for sure. I suppose he has deserved it after everything he's been through up to this point.
- As long as he's happy, I suppose that's all that matters. Me and Quill, we've also been a family for as long as I can remember.
- So I've heard. How was this Peter Quill person anyway?
Rocket wiped a tear from his cheek. It was clear that the disappearance of most of the Guardians was still a sore spot for him.
- Although we've often disagreed, he was still the sort of person you can rely on to save the day. Breaking out of Kyln, distributing the energy of the Power Stone between us in order to vanquish Ronan and last but not least, resisting Ego's attempts to fill the universe with his spores.
- Spores?
- Now that I think about it, I recall reading reports of weird pulsating mass of something that suddenly appeared somewhere in Missouri and suddenly stopped dead in it's tracks. Was that due to the actions of this Ego the planet guy? Rhodey asked.
- That's right. This so-called 'expansion' is what he has always desired during his eons long existence. And to that end, he has sired countless children across the cosmos in hopes of receiving at least one progeny capable of channeling the 'light' and thus begin the expansion into motion. And wouldn't you know it, Peter Quill was the lucky dude for the job. We first met Ego during a brief detour to Berhert after having our ship damaged by the golden lady's forces after I stole some batteries we were tasked to defend. Admittedly, I had my reservations when I first caught glimpses of the guy. It was all too convenient. After some more adventures on my part that included breaking out of a Ravager brig thanks to Yondu and his arrow dispatching the incredibly stupidly named Taserface and his mutineer faction, we took the Quadrant and set the course to Ego and ultimately vanquish him from the face of the cosmos. All in all, it's probably the greatest story never told. Without us, Earth too would be nothing more than an extension of Ego.
Both Cap and Rhodey could do nothing but stare at Rocket increduously. While they both knew that the universe holds many secrets beyond their wildest dreams, it was still scary that Earth was this close to being annihilated were it not for the actions of a group none of them has heard of before. And one prone to squabbling amongs themselves at that. Truly, these Guardians were something else.
After saying their goodbyes, Cap decided to read a book for the night. This time he decided to see for himself what all of the fuss was about Twilight, a four book series about a girl falling in love with a vampire. In it's heyday, there were plenty of fans attached to these stories, likely for the sheer irony of it all. Setting the book down on a table, Cap began to open the first page...
