Chapter 3:
Home Sweet Home
Rocket had expected the room to be the same color scheme as the halls had been, but he was pleasantly surprised. The room was the size of an average hotel room, with walls made of soft faux oak panels that went from floor to ceiling. The floor was covered with a tight Berber fabric rug of a light gray color. The ceiling was made of the same smooth, white metal material as the rest of the ship. Set into the ceiling were two rows of lights that ran the length of the room, the lights were each the size of a softball.
To Rocket's right was an open wood panel door that lead to a private bathroom. On one side of the door were two comfortable looking easy chairs, upholstered in brown leather, with a wooden end table between them. On the other side of the door were two sleek black looking lockers, much like the ones he'd seen in the sick bay. Behind him, against the wall to his right, was a round metal table and four metal chairs. It looked utilitarian, but he'd seen worse in his travels. To the left side of the room, were two flat twin beds. Beds wouldn't be an appropriate word, in actuality they were nothing more then two metal slabs sticking out of the wall, with thin pads laid over them. They were made up nicely though, with clean sheets and a thin brown blankets. On the closest bed was the black tote from before, all of his stuff save for his clothing had made it to the room. They had lived up to their word. It was an unusual surprise. At the foot of each bed was a sleek black footlocker, with no markings on them, but he was sure they were programed for specific users. Beside each bed was a faux wooden end table. Not much to look at, but at least they'd tried to make it homy.
At that moment Rocket realized that there was a sleek black planting pot on one of the end tables. Groot was nestled in the pot, sleeping and gaining strength. Rocket had expected him to be much smaller, but he was at least four times the size he would have normally been. They might have given him a super charged fertilizer to help get him back to his normal state. That was nice of them to take care of my best bud, he thought as he walked up to the tote on the bed, and dropped his pipe pouch on top of the pile.
“Hey Groot, how have they been treating you?” Rocket asked, his voice sounding too loud in the room.
Groot shifted around and stretched, he had already grown taller than Rocket. “I am Groot.” His voice hadn't dropped in tone yet, it sounded much the same as a prepubescent child with a rumbling undertone.
“Whoa! That's awesome. They did something similar to me. They put nanomites in my hand. This thing is like a mother flarking wrecking ball now.” Rocket joked as he picked up his tote and walked over to one of the lockers.
“I am Groot...” His tone sounded disappointed.
“You can't? Well that sucks, but you don't need nanomites anyway, bro. You're already strong as hell.” Rocket felt around the sleek black outside of the the locker.
There was a gentle chime, and a voice coming from inside the locker, the door slid away to show its contents. “Welcome Raccoonoid, Rocket. You're assigned Agent number is Agent 1. Please put on your DLS Headset. (Note user; from this point on DLS will be referring to the Deadlights Society. Thank you for your cooperation.)”
Rocket reached into the locker and picked up the headset. Remarkably, it seemed to be hand crafted just for him. As he slid it on, he could feel it conform to fit snugly, yet comfortably, to his head. The visor, that he'd thought was glass, was actually not transparent at all, but was made up of small computer monitors that projected everything in a red tint. Something in the corner of the monitor flashed white against the red readout.
Rocket read it out loud. “Activate Headset; Delta, Echo, Alpha, Delta...”
There was a soft hum coming from the headset. Twin plugs set snugly in his ears, blocking out all sounds. All at once everything activated. He could hear better than he had ever heard before. The visual display showed things that he hadn't seen- There was a huge network of things showing up on the walls, hidden control panels that allowed him access to anything and everything. Along the top of the visual read out were different menus which gave him access to the ship. Maps, data, logs, specs, and other things. He was now inside their main network. Granted, most of it was probably off limits to him, but it was a nice gesture. When he looked down at his tote on the floor, it gave him a spec read out of every item, before logging it into his personal database.
Rocket smirked and looked around the room. There were control panels all over the walls, each of them did something different. He paced around, with of vertigo slowly washing over him. He stumbled, and planted his hands against the wall on either side of one of the invisible control panels, except now it was visible to him. A white flashing light again in the corner of his eyes said downloading. Just like that, he knew how to use every control panel in his room. It was an amazing, yet scary feeling. No one was meant to have this much control, this much information, all at once.
Rocket knelt down on the floor breathing softly, trying to regain himself. Beads of sweat welled up on his forehead, under his fur. A giddy sensation in his lower regions made him feel like he might throw up. At the same time he was fatigued, his heart was pounding in his chest. A jolt shot through him, one of fear, one of panic. He turned and fell back against the wall, and found that he was looking up at Agent 19. He hadn't heard her come in. Instead, he was being overtaken by this technological tidal wave. The visor was trying to download information on Agent 19, instead it was getting a white hot denied flashing in his eyes. After the third time of retrying, it canceled the request.
“Easy Rocket, just take deep breaths.” Her voice was soothing.
Rocket cocked his head, and looked up at her. She still wore her helmet. So why did her voice come through so clearly? “I...can hear you. Your voice isn't robotic anymore.” He panted.
“I've opened a piece of my mind to you. I'm speaking inside of your head.” Agent 19 knelt down in front of him, helping him to his feet.
“Why can't I talk to you with my mind?” Rocket asked as a sharp pain tore through his head.
“Stop! Don't try anything else for a moment. Let your brain catch up on processing the information. It has to get use to the device. Clear your mind and relax.” She helped him over to his bed and helped him lay back on it.
“Why, what's happening to me? Why do I hurt so bad?” Rocket was on the brink of panic.
“Rocket! If you don't calm down, I will have to sedate you.” Agent 19 threatened. She was lightly caressing his bare stomach.
“You're suffering information overload. The visor has heightened your vision and your hearing. You brain is trying to overcome it, but at the same time it's still gathering all of this information, making room for it in your brain.” The feeling of her fingers making little ringlets in his belly fur was soothing. There was so much compassion in her voice as she spoke into his mind.
“Every time you take on new information for the next few days, you'll start feeling this way. Only take in a little bit at a time, it's also advised that you wear one of the outfits provided to you, while you're doing it. The nanomite in the fabric will help you process easier. Agent 8 was suppose to tell you this.”
“He did, but I completely forgot. Gods, I dunno if I'm cut out for this. This maybe too much power.” Rocket whimpered tiredly.
“It will get easier I promise. Everyone has a hard time adjusting at first. This is merely stage one of a larger process. When you get the nanomite modification on our Mothership, it will be a piece of cake.” Agent 19 lightly pat his stomach, enjoying the fact that he was letting her touch him.
Groot had used his growing strength to move his planting pot from the table to Rocket's bed, resting next to his head. Groot reached up and pulled a leaf from his shoulder. With some deft skill, he pulled back Rocket's cheek, and tucked the leaf between his cheek and teeth. Rocket gagged at first and looked over at Groot angrily. Groot's read out downloaded with a resounding “Unknown, no information moved to database.”
“I am Groot!” He snapped back, his voice growing deeper and cracking in places like a teenager's voice would.
“I didn't know what it was pal, I'm having a nervous breakdown, and your sticking stuff in my mouth.” Rocket spat back as he gritted his teeth against the leaf.
“What did he give you?” Agent 19 inquired, this time using her voice instead of her mind.
“It's a honey lemon leaf. He knows they make me feel better when I'm stressed. Usually he just gives me one, not forces it into my maw.” Rocket chuckled weakly as Groot rested his head against Rocket's head.
“Aw, I love you too buddy, 'ol pal.” Rocket reached up and rubbed the trees every growing back.
“I am Groot.” Groot said happily.
“I'll get you some clothes.” Agent 19 said, giving him another pat on his stomach.
Agent 19 smiled to herself and walked over to his locker. She gathered his lounge clothes: A black tank top, which shimmered with the small nanomites sewn into the light fabric. A pair of loose fitting martial arts trousers, also black. A pair of socks, and a pair of comfortable running shoes. Agent 19 looked down at them, she could see the hundreds of thousand nanomites moving through the fabric, each one at full capacity, ready to bond with it's new owner.
“I'm going to help you get dressed, Rocket. The fabric is going to bond with your body. You'll feel strange for a moment, but it will pass quickly.” Agent 19 warned, as she slipped the socks onto his feet.
Rocket winced as his feet started to feel like they were burning, and then cooling at an alarming rate. After the count of ten, the sensation stopped, and he felt completely comfortable again.
“That was crazy intense. Alright, lets get the rest of the clothes on so I can get the uncomfortable part over with.” Rocket looked at Agent 19, amazed at the cool sensation of seeing the fabric of his clothes actually moving beneath the gaze of his visors.
“Kind of like tearing off a band-aid, so to speak.” Agent 19 stated, as she pushed his pant legs on.
“Exactly.” Rocket sat up kicking his leg over the side of the bed.
Rocket grabbed his pants and hopped off the bed, down into them. With a well rehearsed motion he pulled his tail through the hole in the back of his pants. Agent 19 was putting the shirt on over his head. Rocket picked up on her cues and shoved his arms through the large sleeve holes, fighting to get dressed before the sensation set it.
Agent 19 put his shoes on the floor so he could step down into them, but it was too late. The heat wave moved through him as he reached out to grab the bed. The nausea washed over him again, and he fought against it. It became much easier to deal with once cooling touch washed over him. He chewed the leaf furiously trying to keep calm and not throw up. Then it all passed as it had before. The leaf had done an incredible job calming him down once again. The last item left to put on were the shoes. He stepped down into them, and felt them close tightly around his feet. The nanomites already working in unison with the nanomites in his socks. This time the uncomfortable feeling didn't come at all.
It was such a nice sensation that Rocket actually sighed in relief. “That wasn't too bad at all.”
“Well you still have to take it easy. Baby steps, after all. For now, allow me to show you how to order food, and once you get something to eat, we'll get you into your armor so we can go have some fun in the training hall.” Agent 19 walked over and sat down in one of the metal chairs at the table. “You're going to be amazed at how the nanomite fabric enhances your normal abilities.”
“Yeah, I was going to ask about that. Will it be the same as my hand?” Rocket stretched and flexed against the fabric.
“Yes, but not as severe. Have nanomites introduced into the body is always more effective. But you will feel more powerful.” Agent 19 explained, as she crossed her legs under the chair.
Rocket was a little more excited than he had been before. “Alright, walk me through the food ordering thing, so we can go play.”
“It's fairly simple. Just say 'Today's Menu', read down the list of food. Once you found what you like say 'Order', whatever food you chose. Then 'Delivery' and your name or Agent number. Your number will be one. Then someone in the kitchen will prepare your food, and bring it to your room.” Agent 19 reached up and tapped her helmet twice. “I just cleared the data that my voice command brought up. That works for the visors as well. Just double tap to clear. Another thing, it's not always advisable to get food delivered to your room everyday, it's unnecessary work for the kitchen staff. Plus, interacting with the other Agents will make your visor stronger.”
“Sounds good. Groot, buddy, do you want anything?” Rocket turned and looked at his friend.
Rocket watched as his friend, who was climbing down off the bed. Groot used his arms to move the way a gorilla would. With the way his body was growing from the pot, it looked awkward, like he were a cartoon character that was trying to climb through a hole too small for his body to fit through, and he go stuck at the hips. Groot made his way over to Rocket and stood next to him before flexing. The pot shattered all around, spilling the soil all over the carpet. The he rose up to his full height of thirteen feet. His head almost touching the ceiling, he lowered himself down to sit crossed-legged on the floor.
“I am Groot!” Groot smiled and shook his head slowly.
Rocket smirk and nodded. “Alright man, glad that soil was filling. Hey, please clean up your mess.”
Groot nodded and climbed to his knees. His hand flattening into the form of a dustpan. His other hand slowly growing long thing vines, that took the shape of an old fashioned broom. With great care, he swept the glass and soil up onto his his makeshift dustpan. Some of the soil was stuck in the tiny grooves in the carpet.
“Don't worry, I'll send a clean up crew later.” Agent 19's words were soft and welcoming.
Groot stood up and smiled. “I am Grooooot...”
“You're very welcome.” Agent 19 assumed that's what he said, before getting up from the table to fidget with one of the panels.
A section of the wall slid open revealing a trash chute. Groot padded over to the chute and dumped the refuse he was able to pick up into the bin, watching it slide down into oblivion. Groot wiped his hands off as if he was saying, job well done. Then he moved back next to Rocket and sat back down.
“Today's menu.” Inside of his visor a list of ten items cycled over and over in white text amidst the red ocean. “Order; Medium-Rare Sirloin and Baked Potato, with all the fixings. Delivery; Rocket Raccoon.” There was a soft ping in his ear and a “Received” text flashing in front of his eyes.
“Man this is intense.” Rocket whispered in amazement.
Agent 19 giggled into his mind again, her voice was lovely and familiar to him. “Yes it is, I'm kind of jealous that I can't have the nanomite modification, but that's alright. I will enjoy watching you have them. You deserve to be powerful.”
At that moment Rocket remembered how much he missed Silas, how much he cared for her. Now there was no such person as Silas, not really, anyway. It hurt somewhere deep inside. Despite the want to forgive her, the pain she caused was difficult to overcome. Agent 19 was like a stranger to him. They would have to start over from the beginning. In his ear he could hear her robotic sigh. She must have been reading his thoughts. Another intrusion he was going to have to work to avoid. Rocket shook his head slowly, deciding to change the subject.
“Doesn't Groot need to be outfitted with all this crap too?” Rocket pulled the seat out across from Agent 19 and sat down.
“Unfortunately not. Since he's a sentient tree with no bio-organics, there is no biomass that the nanomites can adhere too. Same with the visors. The truth is, we don't know much about his race at all. The first time we learned about him was when he killed our original Agent 1.” Agent 19 said in a composed manner, her robot voice showing no emotion.
“I am Groot.” Groot said solemnly, his head bent down as he was playing with the twigs hanging from his legs.
“No, no you have nothing to be sorry about. If he hadn't been stalking us like prey it never would have happened.” Rocket seemed defensive despite the nonchalant attitude of Agent 19.
“You're right, we told him not to pursue you once you were aware of his presences. He chose to disobey a direct order. You perceived him as a threat, and dealt with him accordingly. You're not at fault.” Agent 19's tone was coldly indifferent.
“So just like that?” Rocked cocked his head and looked at her.
“Just like that. That's one of the main reason you weren't charged for his demise. We swooped in and cleaned it up. No one here bares you ill will.” Agent 19 stated, as she crossed her legs again.
“Well, that good, I don't want to make enemies so soon after moving in.” Rocket chuckled and folded his hands in front of him on the cold table.
Agent 19 tucked her hands under the table fidgeting against her own discomfort.“I am sorry about what happened at the prison.”
“And?” Rocket asked his voice growing softer.
Agent 19 thought about every word she said before she spoke them. “And for hurting you, for reading your mind, for everything. I hope that one day you can forgive me. I am willing to start from the beginning with you.”
“All I want is the truth. No more lies.” Rocket demanded, tapping his finger against the table.
“I will be as honest as I can.” Agent 19 spoke with baited breath.
“Let's start with you taking off your helmet so I can see what you really look like.” Rocket said plainly, his eyes locked on her.
The word “denied' flashing out of the corner of his eyes, signifying that the visor still couldn't download her information. Agent 19 nodded slowly and reached up to take off her helmet. She jumped when there was a chime at the door. Rocket's eyes snatched towards the door.
It slid open, and a large Agent stepped into the room. It was easy to tell this Agent was a male by sheer girth alone. He was smaller than Drax in the shoulders, but taller in stature. In his hand was a sleek metal tray with a sterling cloche atop of it. The Agent set the tray down on the table in front of Rocket.
“Your food, Agent 1. It's a pleasure to welcome you to our family.” His tone was deep and more robotic than Agent 19's had been.
Rocket looked at the large structured man, the name “Agent 12” appeared in his view screen. All of his information had been downloaded and stored into his personal database. A knot rolled through his stomach, but he fought to recover against it. Agent 19 hadn't been kidding about every time he learned a new thing, that it was going to make him sick. Luckily he was hungry enough to eat a whole pig, so the nausea wasn't about to ruin his appetite.
Thanks Mac, it's good to be here, was what Rocket had thought to say, but what come out of his mouth was. “Thank you Agent 12, it's good to be a part of the family.” His voice was more polite than it ever had been in his life, another twinge in his stomach alerted him to something being wrong.
Agent 12 saluted Agent 19 before heading back out the door. Agent 19 reached across the table lifting the cloche from the tray, sweet smelling steam wafted out from underneath it. The hearty smell of steak and the earthy smell of potato filled the room. Rocket started to salivate despite being lost in contemplation.
“Don't panic Rocket.” Agent 19's voice was in his head again. “Your visor detected that Agent 12 wouldn't have understood what you were going to say so it modified it. Sending it back to your brain, directing you to say it.”
“I don't know if I like that this thing can force me to say different stuff than I'm thinking.” Rocket thought, not wanting to have his words twisted.
“It only did it because it detected that Agent 12 wouldn't understand. I can disable it, if you like?” Her voice was soothing to him, whether he wanted it to be or not.
“Nah, it'll probably never get done. Just like you taking off your helmet.” Rocket said spitefully, his childish anger welling to the surface once again.
Another sigh echoed into his mind, this one was of frustration. “Fair enough! Computer Override Headset; Delta, Echo, Alpha, Delta. Disable language correction. Agent 19; verify.”
A long line of text washed over Rocket's visor and then the word “complete” flashed. Control of his own headset had been returned to him. Rocket looked at Agent 19 to thank her, but her body language told him that she wasn't in the mood.
Finally Agent 19 spoke. “I'm not dodging you, you know? It's just difficult for me to do what you ask. The only person who gets to see my face is Agent 0.”
Rocket cut a chunk of his steak off and stabbed it into his mouth gnawing on it. “Your dad, you mean?”
“Yes, I see that Agent 8 has taken the liberty of revealing that to you.” He could hear her frustration echoing in his head. “Be that as it may, just like you, I get thirty precious minutes of having my visor off a day. I would like to be in the comfort of my chamber when I reveal myself to you. Once I do, I would like to shower and get into comfortable attire. Spend the rest of that time looking out the window, or reading a book without all read outs popping up in front of my eyes.”
“I only need to see for a minute.” Rocket said aloud, a piece of steak falling from his bottom lip onto the table.
“I assure you Rocket, when you see my face you're going to need more than a minute to process it. Just trust me a little bit longer, please. I know I'm asking a lot from you.” She spoke aloud this time, her robotic voice sounding choked as if they're may be tears involved.
Groot cocked his head to the side. “I am Groot?”
“I'll explain it to you later buddy, I barely know what's going on either.” Rocket shoveled a large mound of potatoes into his mouth.
“Are you like a freak under that mask?” Rocket said through a cheek full of food. “I mean, all disgusting and such.”
“No...well yes...maybe a little. I don't think I'm ugly though.” Agent 19 stumbled over her words, keeping him from forcing her to lose her composure.
Rocket smirked. “Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I'll have to judge you by your personality then. Oh wait, I don't know who you are.” It was obvious that he was teasing her now.
Agent 19 sighed heavily out loud and hung her head. “I'm done talking for now. When you've finished eating, you will put your armor on and we will make our way to the training facilities. I want test your skills in combat personally.”
“I am Groot!” Groot stated with a disagreeing tone.
“It will be a fair match, and you will not get involved.” Agent 19 lashed out at Groot, her robotic voice spitting her anger.
“How did you know what he said?” Rocket choked on a small piece of steak.
“I just assumed. Now hurry up!” She turned her wrath upon him, Rocket had to admit her voice was far more cuter when she was angry even with the robotic undertone.
“I am Groot...” Groot agreed to the terms set up by Agent 19.
“That's a good idea, buddy 'ol pal, she's not messing around.” Rocket chewed his last, bit of steak.
Although the edge in her voice was worrisome. It didn't sound so much like sparring match, as it just sounded like she was going to take him to task. Rocket could only assume that if she did, in fact, lead this group of Agents, then she must be good at combat of all kinds. Rocket now regretted pushing her over the edge. Even if he had been joking, she was only trying to be accommodating. He had no right to be so rude.
“You never did know how to shut your mouth, Rocket?” Rocket could hear her angry tone in his head, there were tears in her voice.
Bad things were on the horizon for him. Rocket decided to slow up on his eating, while he thought of way to help her calm down before they made their way to the training facilities.
