A New Infinity Stone

TWENTY ONE

I drift into consciousness. And then back out. The world is a blur, and random images seem to float aimlessly around in the pool of my thoughts, as though they are being blown about viciously by a hurricane. A tap on my shoulder momentarily brings me back to the outside world, but after a second, I am once again lost. I can feel somebody trying to look at me, staring me dead in the eye, but I can't keep focus. The whole world simply feels low resolution, a bad quality movie. Confusion blossoms in my heart, and I know that sooner or later, I need to wake up. To stare reality in the face. But for now, I lay down my heavy head and retreat into the wallowing blackness.

"What the hell was that?" A deep voice growls: Erik.
"I've never seen her lose control like that." Another voice pipes up: Bucky.
"She's a ticking time bomb, and we are stuck on a ship with her, collecting the most powerful objects in the galaxy." This voice is South African: Klaue.
"She is our leader! Thanos chose her, and, in turn, she chose us. I suggest that you watch how you speak about her." Bucky speaks up.
I open my eyes, only to be blinded by a bright light, and I snap them shut once again.
"I've seen what the Infinity Stones do to people; that was something completely different." Klaue says.
I attempt to open my eyes again, and I am prepared for the bright light this time.
"I've been thinking-" Erik starts to say.
"A dangerous pastime." I interrupt with a croak.

The three men turn their attention to me as I groan in pain. My whole body feels like it has been run over by ten busses and then thrown off a cliff.
"Surprise! I'm back from the dead! Isn't that exciting?" I exclaim dramatically.
Bucky rolls his eyes as he walks over to me and sits on the edge of the bed.
"You didn't die." He mutters, passing me a glass of water.
"It certainly feels like I did." I quickly drain the glass. "What the hell happened?"
Bucky glances at the other men before turning back to me.
"We're not sure. Erik and I were waiting outside when we heard glass shattering, and then the temperature dropped dramatically."
"It was horrible; it felt like a morgue." Erik shudders.
"We ran back into the museum only to see shadows everywhere. You were in the middle of it all, clutching the Aether. I managed to reach you to calm you down, but you passed out. So, we brought you back to the ship."
"Where's the Aether?" I question frantically as I sit up on the bed, ignoring my aching body.
"We got it." Bucky reassures me." It's in storage below deck."
"And The Collector? What happened to him?"
Erik and Bucky pass a look between them.
"We don't know. We couldn't find him."

I slump further into the bed. What the hell happened to me? Memories of the event come flooding back as I remember the connection I felt to the Reality Stone, the power that called me. I glance at my arms as the shadows carry on coursing around my body. Erik and Klaue exit the room, but Bucky remains where he is, looking at me with concern.

"What?" I ask softly.
He sighs deeply. "You, losing control like that. It scared me. You need to be more careful."
"I couldn't help it! I've never been in contact with another Infinity Stone before; how was I to know that would happen?"
"I only just managed to pull you back!" He yells, jumping up from the bed. "What if next time I'm not there to do that? What if the Infinity Stone consumes you?"
"It won't." I mutter, staring down at my hands in my lap.
"How do you know that?" He growls, storming out of the room but pausing momentarily before he reaches the door. "I can't lose someone I care about. Not again."

I watch in shock as Bucky closes the door behind him. Tears pool in my eyes, but I blink them away before they can fall. I have a job to do, and I can't allow my emotions to get the better of me. Bucky is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.

Space 5,000 kilometres from Knowhere
Peter Quill's POV ...

"Sun is shinin' in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It's stopped rainin' everybody's in a play
And don't you know
It's a beautiful new day, hey hey"

I sing along to the song as we cruise through the empty vastness of space. Gamora is next to me with a grin on her face as she mimes to the music. Rocket and Drax are sitting in front of us, while Groot and Mantis are behind us.

"Runnin' down the avenue
See how the sun shines brightly in the city
On the streets where once was pity
Mister blue sky is living here today, hey hey"

Recently things have been chill, and it's nice spending time with the guys and visiting random planets. But in my experience, when things are going well, something always goes wrong.

"Mister blue sky please tell us why
You had to hie away for so long (so long)
Where did we go wrong?"

Suddenly, an alarm starts blaring out, and we all sit up to attention. Gamora switches off the song as Rocket pulls up the emergency message.
"Huh. We've got an emergency transmission from Knowhere." Rocket yawns.
Gamora leans forward to get a better look at the message.
"They've been attacked." She turns to me, worry evident on her face. "We should go and check it out."
"Why?" I groan.
She glares venomously at me, and I remember that she used to work for Thanos.
"I mean, of course, we should." I roll my eyes, punching in the coordinates to Knowhere. "Get ready, Guardians; who knows what shit show we are heading into."