Picking Up The Pieces

26. Gifts And Offerings

   "I am Mantis," Ego's counterpart told Drax and I. She bared her teeth in an attempt to smile; her lips wavering every few seconds as if the action hurt her. Draw narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked her somewhat suspiciously. Mantis's smile wavered a little.

"Smiling," she answered, sounding a little self-conscious. "I hear it is the thing to do to make people like you." I shook my head kindly while Drax shied away.

"Not if you do it like that," Drax commented. I looked at him angrily and slapped his arm, which caused him to recoil. "Hey!"

"Just because you saved my freezing ass doesn't mean you can be one," I chastised him before turning back to Mantis, who was looking at me curiously. "What my shipmate is trying to say..." I quickly turned back and gave Drax a glare, "is that you're trying to force the smile."

"Oh," Mantis realized, and her antennae lowered a little. "Do you not do that?" Drax shook his head.

"You smile when you feel happy," I explained to her. "You can't force it, it just... happens." As I told Mantis this, I was reminded of the time when I noticed a spider crawling around Peter's room. The poor boy latched himself on the ceiling and wouldn't get down until I had let it out the window. The look he gave me afterwards... I realized I was caught in the past and quickly brought myself back to the present. "You''ll understand when it happens, trust me."

"Ok," Mantis nodded before looking a little depressed again. "I would not have known. I was raised alone on Ego's planet. I do not understand the intricacies of social interaction." Drax seemed uninterested in talking to her, and I followed Mantis's gaze to see what she was looking at: Rocket, who was currently cleaning himself. "Can I pet your puppy? It is adorable."

"Actually, that's-" I started before Drax put his hand over my mouth to stop me from continuing. I gagged as I backed away. Drax turned back to Mantis and nodded his head, a sly smile on his face.

"Yes," he grinned. Mantis slowly extended her hand to pet Rocket. When her hand made contact with the back of his neck, Rocket turned around with a snarl and bit her hand. Mantis yelped out of both pain and terror while Drax laughed manically. She looked back at him as if she would cry. "That is called a practical joke!" Nebula shook her head in annoyance at his action.

"Oh, come on, man!" I groaned, and I got up from my log to examine the bite. Mantis's lip quivered as I delicately held her hand in mine. Luckily, Rocket's teeth didn't go in far. No punctures had been made. I froze my right hand and hovered it above the mark, making sure I wouldn't burn her from the cold.

"Why is your hand cold?" Mantis asked me curiously. "Are you made out of ice?" I smiled and shook my head at her as I moved my hands away from hers, my work done.

"No, I have powers," I explained. I put my hands over one another as if I was holding an object for a few seconds before moving them apart from one another. I carefully stood up in concentration as the sphere I created swirled around between my hands. "I can manipulate anything water based."

"Anything?" she questioned excitedly, her eyes full of excitement. I closed my eyes and started pulling the sphere apart, my fingers all moving as if they had a mind on their own. I heard Mantis gasp with delight, and I opened my eyes to see her staring in awe as I formed a bunny. Even Rocket seemed interested as my creation hopped around in the air. Feeling my powers wavering from my exhaustion, I quickly sucked the water back in my open palm.

"That's my little party trick," I smiled.

"Where does it come from?" Mantis wondered, moving her own fingers around to mimic my previous moments. I found my spot back on my log.