The Golden Sunshine✓ Tony Stark [Book 2]

35: Family, not Friends.

I managed to get about thirty minutes of sleep before noises startled me awake.

I get up walking out of my room towards the source of the noise and I almost turn back when I realized it's Drax's room but I stopped when I heard Mantis' frightened voice.

I knocked before entering making them both turn to me.
"Can you guys keep it down?" I whispered.

"What's wrong?" I asked when I noticed her expression.

"The bug lady was trying to be with me physically but I let her down nicely." He replied and I scrunched my face up.

"No, I did not." She gasped in horror.

"Okay, I'm gonna go..." I trailed off turning around.

"No, listen! Ego’s gotten exactly what he wanted. I should have told you earlier. I’m stupid. You are in danger." She exclaims and I turned around.

"What?"

"He lied. He's not a good person. He's going to kill all of you, you have to get off this planet." She replied.

Before I can ask her to elaborate, Gamora barges in grabbing Mantis by her throat, slamming her against the wall.

"Who are you people? What is this place?" She grits at Mantis who was choking, making me touch Gamora.

"Gamora, let her go!" Drax says but doesn't actually move to do a thing.

"The bodies in the caverns… Who are they?" She asks again and I grab her shoulder.

A sudden surge of fear passed through me, I haven't felt that type of fear since the day El was taken.
'Run, Mel, run as fast as you can.'

I jerk away from Gamora who was going through the same thing as me.

"What did she do to me?" Gamora screams.

"She already told me everything." Drax says from behind us.

"The bodies… are his children." Mantis explains and I frowned.

"What bodies?" I asked.

"The bodies we found in the caravan, bones of different species." Nebula replied and it is then I realized she was in the room.

"We need to find Peter now, and get off this damn planet." Gamora says.

"Ego will have won him to his side by now. He has a way of-" Mantis starts but Nebula cuts her off.

"Then we just go." She says turning to Mantis.

"No! He’s our friend." Gamora disagrees.

"All any of you do is yell at each other. You're not friends." Nebula retorts.

"You're right… we're family. We leave no one behind." He says and I nodded in agreement. This has to be the first thing he'd say that I'll agree with since I met him.
"Except maybe you." He adds.

"Oh, my God." Nebula muttered.

I turned around to see the building Ego had led us too earlier glowing.
"Um, is that good?" I ask and Mantis shook her head.

The transmitter started beeping continuously and Gamora picks it.
"Finally! Rocket?"

"Keep that transmitter nearby, so I can find you. We’re in an old piece of construction equipment Yondu once used… to slice open the Bank of A ‘askavaria." Rocket responds and I signed in relief. Atleast they were fine and I'll finally get meet this Yondu guy.

"Ego’s unhinged." Gamora replied as we both walked out of the room.

"I know. Get ready." Rocket responds as we all ran towards the building.