Picking Up The Pieces

21. Some New Changes

 "Okay Guardians, we land on Arima in about an hour," Quill informed us. I leaned against the wall with Groot sitting on my shoulder, fixing up the purple jacket I was wearing. With a quiet yawn, I stuck one of my legs out and stretched it, surprisingly comfortable in dark navy leather pants. I had done a couple of jobs with the team, and I had made some pretty close bonds already. Gamora was just like Nat; strong, independent at times, and overall a great person to fight with. Quill, he reminded me a bit of my father, except he didn't have a metal suit and was a lot younger. Drax, maybe similar to Thor when I knew him. That left Rocket. He'd forgiven me, or at least now he did...

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Two hours earlier...

I sat up from in my small bunk, actually happy that I had gotten a better night of sleep. I had been thinking of Hugonyn a lot recently. I never realized until now how much he had given me. I could actually sleep! I laid back down on my bed in contentment, looking around my small room. Quill had been nice enough to provide a place for me to stay when I first arrived.

I reached for my hair to let my braid loose when I realized my hair wasn't in a braid, but actually all out on my back. I felt my eyebrows furrow. Did I not braid it last night before I went to sleep? Still a little groggy, I let it slide. That was until I walked by a mirror.

"Rocket!" I yelled angrily, stomping through the ship to Rocket's room. The raccoon looked at me in amusement, lifting his head up from a book.

"Morning, sunshine!" he greeted me sarcastically, giving me a funny look. "Why the anger?" I grabbed the ends of my hair and showed him the cyans, blues, and purples now peaking out of it.

"What. Did. You. Do," I seethed. Rocket fell back on his bed in laughter. When he sat up, I threw a soft snowball at his snout.

"Jesus!" he cried out in pain. "That's fucking cold!"

"Language," I commented snarkily.

"Hypocrite!" Rockeet shot back, kicking his hind legs at me. I blocked them with my metal arm. "Damn, I want one of those," he grumbled before raising his voice again. "Listen, you dropped a vent on me. I'm not allowed to have a little revenge?"

"A little?" I repeated, my voice shrieking a little. I jerked my head a little so my hair could fall on my back. "A little?!? Do you know how long hair takes to grow?" Rocket shrugged. "A long time!" I told him. "A really long time!" Rocket huffed in annoyance, and I set my hands on my hips. "I'm gonna get you for this."

"Sure thing," Rocket joked, not believing my threat.

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Back to present time...

"It's a simple mission," Quill explained to all of us. I was starting to zone out, and Groot snoring softly on my shoulder wasn't helping. "Rocket, Groot, Drax, and Gamora are going as diplomats to a small kingdom for weapons. Isabel and I will be close by at a trading market." When Quill said my name, I came to my senses.

"Wait, why am I going with you?" I asked him. Groot woke up when he heard me speak. The group looked at me in surprise for not knowing.

"Almost the entire planet is underwater," Gamora said. "You told us about your powers. Can you breathe underwater?"

"Yes," I said slowly. "But I've seen that water suit you guys have. Can't Quill go down there alone?"

"Two things, sweetheart," Rocket told me in his sarcastic tone. "First, nobody goes alone, including special Starboy."