Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Chapter 28

The Bowie, Deep Space

Fallon knew she'd screwed up the moment Adam disappeared. And the feeling only worsened when, a few moments later, her name rang out through the ship.

"Fallon!"

Gods, she was really losing it. Nausea and dizziness were one thing, but a failed skip? She'd never failed a skip in her life. Then again, she'd never been mortal before either, and apparently, rest was more of a necessity than she'd originally thought.

But there was no time for rest now, even with her head spinning and her stomach roiling. She needed to find a way out of this mess, and fast, if the footsteps echoing through the hallways were any indicator.

She started to run, but she'd barely gotten out of the common area when she came face to face with Gamora, who considered the shouting and footfalls for a moment before narrowing her eyes.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Fallon raised her hands defensively, though she found herself stumbling back as the woman drew closer, her expression equal parts suspicious and determined.

Not a good mix, especially for the deadliest woman in the galaxy. Well, another galaxy, technically, but for once, Fallon didn't have it in her to worry about timeline technicalities. She just needed to get away.

And with a wave of her hands, she did.

It was in instinctive action, one she'd used to get out of all sorts of sticky situations, but now, it was doing her no favors.

Especially when she skipped right into Mantis.

"Sorry!" Fallon veered out of the way just before the bug woman could trip over her.

But 'veered' might have been a kind term. 'Collapsing into the wall' was probably more accurate.

At the sight of her, Mantis's eyes widened. "You!"

Fallon opened her mouth to answer, but a chill wracked her body before she could, and she settled to simply stay silent and lean into the wall harder. Stupid, mortal body, with it's stupid, mortal limits.

"Are you okay?" Mantis's antennae twitched as her brow furrowed. "You look terrible."

"Thanks." The word came through gritted teeth, and Fallon regretted the word immediately as her stomach turned again.

Mantis looked as if she was about to offer help, but there was no time to accept it. Even in this new hallway, the footsteps were growing closer, and the voices that came with them were sickeningly familiar.

"And you're sure you can't teleport?"

"Yes. If I could teleport, you and your Guardians would have been dead long ago."

"Thanks, man. Real comforting."

"Don't call me 'man.'"

Fallon swore silently. One more. Just one more skip, and this would all be history. The Guardians would be back to their argument, Gamora would be back to her calls, and she and Adam would be back to sitting in the common area. And there'd be no dancing, no matter how much she'd loved it.

Yes, she'd skip herself, along with everyone else and their memories. It was a terrifying task, especially when she was running on fumes, but it was a necessary one. She'd wave her hands, reset the timeline, and then take a nice, long nap on the common area couch. Probably slumped against Adam. Maybe he'd even give her his cape as a blanket.