"a kill-switch?"
"a device." nebula started. "said to destruct if anyone goes poking around inside him or if anyone uses the med-packs."
cassandra looked up at nebula, who had a black wire connected to her, snaking down and connecting into rocket. her brows furrowed slightly. "why would rocket have a kill-switch?"
"apparently someone considers him important technology and sent that lunatic out to get him." nebula answered quickly, muttering hurriedly. cassandra felt like it would be stupid to ask her to repeat, she kind of heard her anyway.
mantis stepped forward. "so he'll die if we operate on him?"
"he will die if we don't, though." cassandra sighed.
"there has to be some way to bypass it."
"it looks like there's a pass key to over-ride the kill-switch." nebula replied, staring down at rocket with a particular expression that cassandra couldn't place.
"what do we know about where rocket came from?" mantis asked.
cassandra hummed thoughtfully, staring down at rocket. rocket, even in the years she spent with just him and nebula, didn't talk alot about where he came from. it seemed like he was just trying to get away from his past; as far as possible, so he would never have to look back. "not alot.. he doesn't talk about it."
"it was developed by a company called orgocorp, and there's a code, 89P13. he's got, maybe, fourty-eight hours."
cassandra gagged at just those words. he's got maybe fourty-eight hours.
'maybe' didn't sound good.
'maybe' didn't sound promising.
peter immediately turned and started walking away from the group, and cassandra sighed and followed him, worried he was going to get in over his head with his grief and do something stupid. "where are you going?"
"orgocorp has records, right!? maybe they'll have a way to over-ride the kill switch and save rocket!"
"you're doing that thing you always do! where you do something without thinking, i mean, dad, you remember titan? 'cause i do!"
"don't bring up titan! that was a weak moment for me and you dont get to exploit that!" he turned to face her. cassandra wanted to laugh, amused at how defensive he got over the events on titan. "i'm going to be more careful this time!"
"like hell you are! what plan do you even have!?"
"i dont need a plan!" her dad argued back, though he knew his daughter well enough to know that arguing back with her wasn't going to do much. his argument was also stupid. this whole argument was stupid, because, unfortunately, they're father and daughter and they aren't as different as they think they are.
"what!? you need a plan– besides, they won't just give you that information!"
"that's why were gonna break in!"
cassandra can't believe him!
"and kill anyone who gets in our way!"
she can't believe drax, either.
"not kill anyone!"
"kill a few people."
"kill no people."
"kill one guy, one stupid guy who nobody loves."
"no, drax! it's just sad now!" cassandra huffed, following her dad and drax into the cockpit. "kraglin, cosmo, i'm gonna need you to keep watch until we come back. a couple days, tops."
"we don't have a couple days." cassandra muttered, but nobody seemed to notice.
"i'm looking into the coordinates for orgocorp, and i think i found a contact near there, maybe they can help us get in."
cassandra felt bad. as she always ends up feeling. it's like clockwork. her father and her will argue; then they'll both realize they're just stubborn and assholes and not as different as they believe they are. was she pissed at her dad? absolutely, but when isn't she? her dad was going through alot, and she knew that better than anyone on the ship does.
music started blasting through the ship as it started off knowhere and through a jump, and cassandra sighed and laid a gentle hand on her dad's shoulder, which he acknowledged with a swift pat to her fingers.
"sorry."
"it's fine. i forgive you. i'm sorry, i shouldn't have yelled." he mumbled, giving her fingers a quick, gentle squeeze.
nebula cringed. "you two settle arguments so easy it's gross."
"well, can't be mad at him forever, if i plan on getting all his units when he dies."
"what?"
"nothing."
"that's what i thought."
-
"it's not going to be easy to break into this place, star-lord."
"doesn't have to be easy, i was a professional thief, remember? we'll jam the signals one at a time." peter spoke as cassandra, mantis, and drax followed him, even though cassandra could not believe they were doing this, but if something went wrong, she could wear her i told you so with pride, and that was enough consolation for her.
"i think you're mad at me." peter hummed to cassandra as he jammed in the key to take out the anulax batteries.
"no i'm not." cassandra hummed, because she's not, and she has no idea where this is coming from.
"yes you are. it's 'cause i was drunk."
"not really, no. you're drunk all the time, but okay."
"i'll take that. and you're right, cass, if i hadn't been drinking.. maybe rocket would have.. i'm sorry."
cassandra sighed. "it's fine. it's not entirely your fault, if you were alive or not that.. super-douche would have still tried to find him so.. it's out of your control. besides, he's your best friend."
"second best friend." drax quickly corrected.
cassandra ignored drax. "i'm just a little stressed out.. who isn't, though."
"it's something more than that." peter sighed. "and if you don't want to tell me, it's okay.."
he was getting choked up, which meant one of those awkward moments where he starts crying and cassandra never truly knows what to do about it. she never truly knows why he's crying and he usually doesn't tell her. over the years, cassandra's realized that he's probably embarrassed to show that kind of vulnerability to his only child. he probably puts alot of pressure on himself to be a strong person, for her, and in these moments when he cracks, cassandra can't help but feel bad.
".. everyone around me dies. my mother, yondu, gamora.."
"well, gamora isn't dead. it's not the same, but she's not dead. if that makes you feel better, and it probably doesn't." cassandra muttered, always feeling awkward whenever her dad starts crying like this, never sure of what to say to him because usually nothing ever works and he just keeps crying.
"cassandra, i am so, so terrified that you might die. because you are the closest person in my life and you are.. my absolute everything and everyday i look at you and atleast once my brain tells me that you might not be here, and i get.. really scared." eyes widened at seemingly just the thought, and cassandra felt a pit forming in her chest at the words. why was her dad dumping all of this onto her now?
"yeah, i mean.. i would be scared of that too, but i'm not a kid anymore.. and i'm not mad at you." cassandra started, voice slightly shaky. "i'm just really tired.." she chuckled, but it just came out dry and choked up.
peter remained quiet for a moment, oceanic eyes glossy with tears, and he looked over at her. her bottom lip, chapped and peachy, clung between her teeth, and she did look, frankly, exhausted.
"cass.."
drax, being drax, interrupted by offering his bag of zarg nuts. peter took a handful, stuffing it into his mouth. peter didn't even know what he would say to what cassandra had just said, and, in an almost selfish way, peter was almost grateful that drax had interrupted.
the ship tore through the shield, and cassandra followed peter around to the next battery. she inhaled sharply, chest stabbing with some sort of hollowing feeling at the exhale. "well, you have family in missouri anyway, why not go visit them?" she muttered, voice abit shaky, attempting to stabilize herself. this was kind of a weird conversation.
"and leave you here? no. i got my daughter, and i got my sister. that's all the family i want, or need. besides, it's just my grandpa, and he's a pretty old guy now."
cassandra hummed. "you never really told me about him."
"i mean.. why? what would you like to know? 'cause the truth is, i don't know much about him myself. i mean, i loved him enough, he had a nice house? he was supposed to take me in after my mother died but.. guess what happened." he chuckled dryly at his own response.
"still, dad, don't you think he.."
"what?"
"you were kidnapped by ravagers and he hasn't seen you in, what, fourty years now?"
his brows furrowed. ".. i'm not that old, cass."
".. plus it was the same day he lost his daughter."
peter chuckled bitterly. "yeah, he was 'upset'. my mother died, and he screamed in my face and pushed me out the room!"
cassandra shrugged. "you didn't tell me my mom died for, like, three years."
peter huffed. "yeah, but, you told me that didn't bother you!"
"it doesn't! you should just consider that maybe he was doing it to protect you, the way you did that to protect me."
"what are you talking about!?" he suddenly looked at her, and cassandra could tell he felt threatened by the questions somehow.
".. what?"
"i'm talking about the people in my life who have died, and you're talking about this?"
"i don't know. he's probably dead anyway, so it's practically the same topic- sorry, just.. " cassandra muttered awkwardly, worried her dad was mad at her, noticing how her dad was staring at her in some sort of disbelief, before just sighing to himself.
"second shield set!"
"i mean, he could still be alive. is that what you want me to say?" cassandra sighed as she followed him to where he was setting up the third shield. peter looked up at her. "he's, like, ninety-something years old anyway, and people on earth die at, like, fifty."
"they die at fifty!?" mantis suddenly gasped.
"yeah, i mean, something like that!"
"what's even the point of being born!?"
"exactly!"
".. so you're gonna die soon?" cassandra laughed to herself.
peter slowly looked up at her, mouth slightly agape. ".. i'm not fifty!"
"you're fourty-three, with a twenty-five year old daughter. feel old yet?" she chuckled with a shrug, not realizing that peter had stopped what he was doing, his actions slowing to a stop as he realized something about what she had said was not right, or it didn't feel right. he is fourty-three, which just makes him feel old, then he realized.
"cassandra."
"yes?"
"you're twenty-five?"
"yes." cassandra looked up at him, and she suddenly felt her stomach turn at the expression on her dad's face. it was some indescribable disappointment, and lingering sadness that just made her stomach hurt.
his gaze softened. "no. cass.. don't- don't tell me that i.."
".. what?"
".. that i forgot?"
".. yeah.. but it's fine.." she wanted to run away from this conversation as fast as possible.
peter choked out a sigh. ".. i need to stop drinking.." he ran his hands through his hair. "cass, i'm so sorry–"
"it's.. fine."
peter felt like the absolute scum of the galaxy for that one hollowing moment, cassandra just wanted the ship to swallow her whole from how awkward and, somehow, embarrassing this conversation was. she felt like a kid who had done something bad. standing in the corner, watching nauseating plaster.
".. third shield set." he muttered, voice wavering, which cassandra took as an opportunity to spin on her heels and make her way towards the elevator. peter quickly followed her, drax and mantis awkwardly trailing behind.
"cass, i feel like we should talk about this–"
"it's not a big deal, dad, really so–"
"it is! to me, it is!" he sighed, putting his head in his hands as the elevator started to lift them, cassandra glancing up at the ceiling. "i feel like such an asshole."
cassandra didn't reply. she couldn't, really, she had no idea what to say to that.
"i'm not mad at you." she finally muttered, staring down at her feet.
mantis glanced between the two of them, awkwardly, somehow caught in all of this, before looking over at cassandra. "happy birthday." she chirped, smiling, placing her hand gently on cassandra's shoulder, and cassandra couldn't help but smile.
"my birthday was a couple days ago, but thanks." she shrugged her shoulders. mantis moved her hand away.
drax nodded. "i'm sorry we missed it.. want a zarg nut?"
cassandra accepted the offer and took the final zarg nut out the bag, which made mantis quickly send a glare over at drax. just as she swallowed the zarg nut, the lights flickered and the elevator rattled. she quickly lost balance, grabbing onto her dad's shoulder quickly. the elevator slowed slightly.
"why didn't we go through?"
".. we did. it's not the shield."
the elevator slowed to a stop and the four of them quickly pushed out the elevator. peter slowly stopped, cassandra stopping next to him and looking to see what he was looking at; stakar, with thick lights illuminating off of him.
"oh shit." she sighed.
".. ravagers."
ravagers started packing onto the ship, stomps echoing throughout the ship. this day can't get any worse, cassandra decides. drax dove forward, ready to make a run for it. cassandra and peter let out startled yells and reached forward and grabbed him; because both of them knew that running from the ravagers would get you, well, nowhere.
"guys! it's me! peter quill, i'm one of you! remember cass? my kid? she's one of you too!"
"hold on!" nebula ran forward. "we have an appointment!"
peter nodded, deciding to just go along with it in any attempt to get them off their asses. "we have an appointment–"
"we do?" cassandra glanced back at nebula, wondering why she wasn't made aware of this.
"with who?" one of the ravagers seethed.
"with gamora."
"with gamora–" peter and cassandra quickly looked back at nebula. "what!?" peter spat.
"you're early." a voice murmured from beside them. cassandra quickly looked over, and watched as ravagers were pushed to the side as a woman stepped out from the group;
gamora.
ஓ๑♡๑ஓ
𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 ; 2315
sorry about this chapter being mainly conversation-based! i wanted to focus on their conversations in this scene, and it's prob not as descriptive as my usual writingggg so I'm sorryyyyy. anyway tysm for reading and any interaction/appreciation is appreciated!