I was fortunate to be apart of @sammyborras’ amazing Janelle Monáe/Dirty Computer fanzine with my op-ed discussing how she has impact my life. Janelle has shaped, changed, and SAVED my life with her artistry since 2010. She makes me feel seen, loved, and valued. There is power in art. I present…
A/N: Hey girls, gays, and nerds! My name is Michael-Michelle. I’m little nerdy 17-year-old bi wlw who loves writing. This is my first fanfiction in a while. I have also never read GOTG or Valkyrie fanfic, but trust me, I’m trying. Gamora and Valkyrie are my absolute favorite MCU characters (besides the Black Panther and Spider-Man characters). I love them and based on the similarities between their backstories, cinematic characterization, the fact that Gamora is somewhere on the fluid-sexuality-hella-gay spectrum in my head, and Valkyrie is canonly bi, I thought it only made sense that the two of them would date and have a beautiful connection.
Special Thanks: @starsandsupernovae@storibambino @natashalieromanov@dramaqueenamby (These lovely ladies either helped me with writing advice, coming up with ideas and/or being a beta reader. Thank you so much)
Gamora sat quietly aboard The Milano behind Peter Quill as she observed the fireworks that were vibrantly out in space to commemorate his father, Yondu the Ravager. He sat in his captain’s chair silently sulking over the recent loss. She silently fondled with her green nails as she pondered about the fact that if he had just listened to her when she warned him about the cavern filled with skeletons on Ego’s planet, this all could’ve been avoided. Her internal dialogue was quickly interrupted. The hologram com system rang, as a call came through.
‘’What the hell..’’ Gamora overheard Peter scowl. He slowly hit the receive button, and the transmission came through, the hologram popping up and then came Irani Rael’s face.
“Guardians, we need you here urgently- Oh my, what happened?” The Nova Prime asked, seeing Quill’s deadened face. Quill scowled, his face hardening. “None of your business,” he shouted.
Gamora quickly sprinted from her chair and clamped her hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence. “Um. My Apologies, he’s just lost somebody important to him, I hope you aren’t offended. How urgent is this business?” She explained to Irani Rael before noticing a dazed anger across Quill’s face, the same as when he shouted at her to be happy for him since he finally found his family. Gamora removed her hands from his mouth.
Irani Rael blinked, “Oh… I’m sorry for your loss…”
“No, you aren’t!” Quill yelled, about to throw a punch at the hologram, his fist about to go through it, before Gamora caught his hand in midair. Peter ignored her hand before continuing his tirade, “You just want my fucking help!” She sensed it was a bad idea to pursue further and switched back to the main reason for calling. “How long will it take you to arrive here?”
Rocket and Drax had just walked in as the question was asked, being led by Groot who Gamora had told to run and get them. “Maybe a couple of days at best?” Gamora explained. Ro
The Nova Prime sounded confused. “Where in the universe even are you?”
“In the middle of nowhere,” Quill spat out bitterly.
“But we’re not in Knowhere, we’re-” Drax blinked in confusion as Quill quickly cut him off.
“He means Nowhere important ,” he amended his statement, glaring at Drax.
“Well, please arrive here as soon as possible, we have a situation that has to be resolved quickly,” she said, glancing at the four of them, and at Quill last.
“I am Groot?” the sapling asked, holding his branchy hand above a screen that was already set to Xandar. Apparently, he’d already forgotten about what had happened last time.
“No!” The four all yelled, as the sapling brought his hand down on the screen and their wild ride began.
†††
Scrapper 142 better known as Valkyrie leads the way down a narrow lime green hallway through a Sakaarian building with Thor and Bruce Banner following close behind her. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and sighed. She was about to reluctantly reveal moderately intimate details about herself to the brother of the murderous goddess of death who killed her fellow Valkyries and a man she felt an odd connection with but only met minutes prior. ‘’Look, I’ve spent years in a haze, trying to forget my past. Sakaar seemed like the best place to drink and forget, and to die one day.’’
“I was thinking that you drink too much, and that probably was gonna kill you..’’ Thor replies.
They arrive at a door to their destination.‘’I don’t plan to stop drinking. But I don’t wanna forget. I can’t turn away anymore, so if I’m gonna die, well, it may as well be driving my sword through the heart of that murderous hag.’’ Valkyrie proclaims a smirk spreading across her lips. ‘’So, I’m saying that I wanna be on the team,’’ she confesses, taking Thor up on his previous offer. ‘’Has it got a name?’’ Valkyrie questions.
‘’Yeah, it’s called the Revengers.’’ Thor and Bruce mutter.
‘’Revengers?’’ Valkyrie scoffs.
‘’Because I’m getting revenge. You’re getting revenge.’’ Thor explains. Valkyrie ponders the name with a satisfied expression. ‘’Do you want revenge?’’ Thor asks Bruce. ‘’I’m undecided,’’ Bruce mutters.
‘’Also, I’ve got a peace offering,’’ Valkyrie exclaims proudly. She opens the front door to her apartment revealing - Loki. He is as restrained as anyone could be, sitting in the middle of the apartment with a dozen chains around him.
‘’Surprise’’ Loki shouts. Thor tosses a bottle. It bounces off of Loki’s head. ‘’Ow’’ Loki exclaims in pain.
‘’Just had to be sure.’’ Thor jokes dryly. Thor walks further to Valkyrie’s apartment which reveals Bruce.
‘’Hello, Bruce’’ Loki cordially greets.
‘’So, last time I saw you, you were trying to kill everybody. Where are you at these days?’’ Bruce sarcastically asks.
‘’It varies from moment to moment,’’ Loki replies. Val’s apartment is a shithole. Bottles everywhere, blood-spattered clothes in the corner, a knife in the wall, etc. Banner gives Thor a look like “she might be crazy.” Thor responds with a “No, she’s cool” gesture.
Valkyrie lays something on a table. Unwraps it to reveal an old Asgardian sword. Thor’s eyes go wide as she sharpens it.
‘’Is that… a Dragonfang?’’ Thor asks, his eyes reminiscent of a child’s on Christmas morning.
‘’It is.’’ Valkyrie coldly answers, still trying to adjust to welcoming memories of Asgard into her conscience.
‘’My God. This is the famed sword of the Valkyrie,’’ Thor says, still fixated on the sword, gleefully balancing it on his fingers.
Valkyrie walks to the other side of her apartment, becoming annoyed with the side conversations, and decides to change the subject back to the matter at hand. “So, Sakaar and Asgard are about as far apart as any two systems. Our best bet’s the wormhole right outside city limits. We can refuel in Xandar, and we should be back in Asgard in about… eighteen months?”
“She is right. Going through the wormhole is the safest and most logical option”
“In case anyone cares what I think, that’s a great idea” Loki interjects. “And you’re going to need all the help you can get. I have what you need. I’d suggest you get me out of these chains.“
Valkyrie parted her lips as a smile spreads across her face.
†† †
The ship finally landed in Xandar, Gamora parted her lips trying to catch her breathe, as she was clinging onto the counter. She noticed Drax stood his ground as if nothing was happening at all. ‘’Gravity is nothing, to the mighty Drax,’’ He chuckled. Gamora rolled her eyes and peered over to see Quill grunting, gagging, of exasperation as vomit almost spilled out of his mouth.
Quill tried to land without damaging anything, still feeling lightheaded and dizzy. He gritted his teeth as he looked over at Groot, “This is all your fault.” Groot stared at him blankly not registering his frustration.
In that moment, the ship door was opened, Rhomann Dey stood at the door in confusion. “I thought you said you’d only be here in a couple of days.” he quickly helped Mantis up, who had fallen to the floor in the passageway. All the Guardians gave each other quick glances as they realized they had all forgotten about Mantis.
Quill finally landed on his feet, stumbling and shaking slightly. Almost knocking over Rocket, who held Groot firmly in his hands. "Hey! Watch it.“
"I am Groot,” was the last thing Quill heard before it all went pitch black. † † †
Gamora whipped her head around as soon as she saw Peter blink his eyes open slowly, gradually taking in his surroundings.
He suddenly panicked as he felt cords and equipment attached to his chest and tried to the swipe off the things that were attached to him. ‘’No! Get it off me! Get it off’’
“Hey! Everything’s okay, Peter,” Gamora gently grabbed his hands and stroked his face. Peter blinked and looked up into Gamora’s eyes. She was visibly concerned with a warm reassuring smile across her face….he had never seen that expression on her face before.
He blinked and finally took in his surroundings properly. He averted his eyes from Gamora to the white bed he was laying in, to holograms flickering on the walls. There were little wireless buttons attached to him, connected to the holograms, which were projecting a model of his body and showing his heart rate.
Drax suddenly stood up from where he’d been sitting on the floor, to further investigate the model of Peter. “It appears your fragile Terran body could not handle the pressure as well as the Mighty Drax’’ Gamora glared at Drax. "They checked all of us for and only kept him in here because…” she trailed off.
“Because of what, Gamora?” Quill demanded, sitting up straight.
At that moment, Irani Rael walked into the room. “Oh, good, you’re up. We have several questions to ask you, Peter Quill. Please come with us.” She indicated that the others could come too, as the Nova Prime’s assistant quickly took the things off Peter’s body and switched off the holograms.
Quill gave the others a confused look as he reluctantly got off the bed and they followed behind Irani Rael.
They followed the Nova Prime, Quill dragging behind slightly, as she led them into the Nova Corps’ Mission Control Centre, where they had been when she’d commended their actions in the Battle of Xandar, and informed Quill that he was only half-Terran. He glanced out the windows, grimacing, as the others chose to stand inside the room, and focus on the Nova Prime, except him, who was avoiding her gaze.
“Peter,” Gamora snapped. “This is important, you idiot.”
“I don’t care,” he grumbled, staring out the window, down into the clean and tidy streets of Xandar. The sinking feeling within him was making him want to run back out of the room and leave Xandar never to return.
“Oh, yeah, so you had something to tell us?” he quipped impatiently.
“Recently, across every single known planet, there was a great wave of destruction that swallowed up many things.“ She gestured to the screens where gigantic walls of blue goop suddenly bloomed up and began swallowing up civilization, the holograms projecting the sound of screams and destruction as people ran away in terror.
The others, Gamora most of all, remembering the destruction of Zen-Whoberi, stared at the holograms in shocked horror, having not seen what had been actually occurring on other planets while they were on Ego, trying to stop the egotistical planet from destroying the universe.
“Oh…my god…” Peter gasped felt his eyes water as he thought about what could have happened if he hadn’t resisted his father, if his father hadn’t mentioned his friends or family, or if his father hadn’t broken his Walkman… He could remember physically feeling Ego spread himself to the other planets, seeing the destruction his father caused with his help, through the tendrils that had drained him of energy…
“This happened on Xandar, as well. There were two times when its progress halted, and we were able to analyze what it was then.” The Nova Prime looked down at Peter as he looked up slowly. “It was something…something we’d never seen here before. Except in you.”
Peter felt his heart beat erratically as he frantically stepped away from the Nova Prime, his eyes widened in horror as her words sunk in.
Peter Quill held his hands up, like a barrier between himself and Irani Rael, “In my defense, I was not responsible for anything that happened,” he pointed at the screen of blue goop, then sighed. “Okay, maybe I’m somewhat responsible…” he looked down at the floor, thinking of Yondu. “But I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I didn’t want it to happen! He used me against my will!” Peter looked up again, looking the Nova Prime directly in the eyes, before frowning. His frown turns into a blank stare then utter confusion.
The Nova Prime continued to further explain and ease Quill’s confusion. “The reason that we called you here, and after hearing what you said just, it does sound like you know what happened. We thought that because you are the Guardians of the Galaxy, you would know something and be the incident, even without your genetics,” she nodded to Quill.
Quill stared at her. “You made us come all this way just to tell you something, you could have said over a hologram call?” he huffed
“We could have but now that we have seen you in person, we realized it was important to keep an eye on you in a stable, enclosed environment after this incident. We needed to see if you were physically affected by these events.”
Peter separated his lips to protest. Irani Rael continued to further clarify, “This is not jail or captivity. You will be free to go once we have determined that you haven’t been physically harmed, which may take up to a couple of days to a week.”
Gamora stepped behind Quill and put her hand on his shoulder. “I think we should do this, just to make sure you’re okay.“ Peter blinked a couple of times. Gamora was acting a lot more caring than usual, and it was weird.
"I think it is a good idea to have your weak Terran body checked over” Drax addressed Quill first. Quill groaned, and held his hand up to his forehead as a little voice piped out, “I am Groot!”
Quill tried to ignore Drax looked at the Nova Prime again. “So, this is just temporary, right? And You just want us to give you some information”
The Nova Prime nodded, and then Mantis decided to pipe up as well, “I also think it a good idea to stay here. I might be able to help, as well, and I know a lot about Ego.”
Irani Rael frowned. “Ego..? He actually exists? Was he the cause of all this? Xandar has heard tales…but there are many false legends floating around in the universe.”
Quill sighed and looked around. “Okay, we’ll tell you what happened. But first… Is there anywhere to sit down?” he asked. He knew it would take a while to explain everything.
Quill’s short version of events which included, “I have a crazy planet as a father who wanted to take over the whole universe and I had to commit patricide to stop him,” wasn’t satisfactory for the Nova Prime. Drax almost made matters worse by telling the Nova Prime that they’d stolen batteries from the Sovereign after she’d asked them how they’d met Ego.
Gamora came to rescue just in time, with a bare minimum explanation. She recalled that their ship needed repairs so they’d landed, and that was when Ego had passed by and introduced himself. Groot had tried to interject some facts a couple of times, but the Nova Prime and her assistant had struggled to understand his limited vocabulary,
Quill explained about agreeing to go to Ego’s planet with Gamora and Drax. Mantis spoke up to vice that she’d met them, but recounted that she’d only really been in the company of Ego before, and a couple of his children, once or twice, but never for a long amount of time.
“I thought something seemed off, though, about the whole thing, especially when Mantis wanted to tell Drax something, but didn’t,” Gamora looked over at Mantis. “And then my sister came along and we found a cave with many skeletons lying around. That was when I knew something was wrong.”
“Wait, what?!” Quill stared at Gamora. He knew Ego had many children… What he hadn’t known was their tragic fae that ended in death…
Gamora’s facial expression fluctuated, as a confusion morphed into realization, “I never got to tell you… When we got to you, there was no time to explain.”
Quill shuddered and shifted in his seat. He swallowed before speaking. “Ego needed the power of two Celestials to pull his plan off, and I couldn’t go along with…” He didn’t feel the need to explain what he’d almost done. That he first went along with Ego’s plan or he’d only snapped out of it when he thought about his mother and his friends. Just minor details. Nothing worth mentioning.
“And then we arrived and smashed that asshole into the ground with our ship!” Rocket smashed his small fists together gleefully as if it had been his pleasure.
“I am Groot!” the tree piped up to protest Rocket’s inaccuracy.
“Yeah, I know it didn’t work, shut up, I was getting there,” Rocket waved Groot off.
“We just had to get a bomb to go off in the core of Ego’s planet to destroy him,” Quill interjected, pressing his hand to his forehead tiredly. He was visibly agitated and tired of talking.
“We were all in the ship by the time Ego was destroyed, except for Quill, and Yondu…” Gamora trailed off.
There was a silence. A beat.
“And then Yondu died saving me…,” Quill mummbled. Rocket then explained that he’d accompanied them to go save Quill. The Nova Prime processed this information slowly. Yondu the Ravager. She made a mental note of that name.
Quill pushed his chair out and stood up. “Okay, that’s all we have to tell you. We’ll be leaving now.” He turned and headed towards the door.
“Peter! You know we can’t leave yet,” Gamora said sternly.
“Yes, your fragile Terran body is extremely capable of breaking,” Drax added in.
“I’m fine!” Peter waved his hand at them. “Stop calling me ‘weak’ and ‘Terran’?” The Nova Prime stud up to address him, “Peter Quill, Wait” she began, “Have you considered what being half-Celestial entails?”
Peter blinked at her. “No way. I’m just Terran,” he protested. “Ego said that I would be when he died.’’
"Did it occur to you that he was just saying that so that you wouldn’t kill him?” Gamora snapped, also standing up.
“Yeah, it’s not like you stopped being Terran when your mother died,” Rocket pointed out.
“Don’t bring my mom into this!” Quill shouted angrily. “The only thing that concerns her is that she was unlucky enough to fall in love with that asshole!”
“I am Groot!” the trree interjected.
“Groot is right, there is no way to tell whether your father was telling the truth or not.” Drax chimed in. “And we do not have enough information on Celestials to discern whether what this Ego said is true or not,” the Nova Prime added.
“You know what? You guys can fuck off” Quill shouted angrily. “I’m a fucking Terran and that’s all!” He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him with a bang as he stomped angrily leaving the building. They’re all wrong, he thought.
Drax stared after him and then turned to the others. “Do you think he will ever accept it?”
Rocket shrugged, “Who knows? You nothing ever goes through that thick skull of his.”
“I am Groot,” Groot politely reminded Rocket that the same applied to him.
“You can just - shut your sap hole, alright” Rocket growled.
Gamora looked to Mantis, who shuffled her feet a little. She was about to speak before deciding not to as her antenna dropping slightly.
The Nova Prime sighed. “After hearing what you’ve just told us, I fear what might happen if he doesn’t accept himself… If only we had more information about half-Celestials… We didn’t even know they could exist,” she admitted.
“We should go after him,” Gamora decided.
“Before he kills himself like the idiot he is,” Rocket added.
“It shouldn’t be that hard, considering he is half-Terran,” Drax pointed out.
“Oh c’mon, are you still hung up over that?” Rocket asked, exasperated.
“What? It’s true,” Drax blinked.
“I give up on the both of you. It seems like I always have to be the mature one around here” Gamora scowled and headed off to find Quill.
As Gamora walked through the streets of Xandar in search of Peter Quill, for what seemed like forever, her feet and ankles began to ache with pain. It was as if the lack of sleep due to the Guardians most recent adventures from defeating Ego, to Yondu’s death, and now this unexpected trip Xandar was all catching up to her. Gamora yawned and rubbed her heavy eyelids. She stopped in the middle of her tracks as she noticed a small bar on the corner.
“Peter can wait. I need a drink first”
†††
‘’If we’re going with my plan, we need another ship. The wormhole will tear mine to pieces’’ Valkyrie speaks up.
‘’She’s right. We need one that can withstand the geodetic strain from the singularity.’’ Thor nods in agreement. Banner gives Thor a quizzical look.‘’And has an offline power steering system that could also function without the onboard computer.’’ Bruce proposes, looking between Thor and Valkyrie for approval.
‘’And we need one with cup holders because we’re gonna die. So, drinks!’’ Valkyrie boasts while smiling and cheerfully holding up a bottle
‘’What do you say, doctor? Uncharted metagalactic travel through a volatile cosmic gateway. Talk about an adventure.’’ Thor offers Banner before the two of them high five.
‘’We need a ship’’ Banner points out.
‘’There are one or two ships, absolute top-of-the-line models-’’ Valkyrie begins to reply.
Loki interjects the conversation while sitting a few feet away, still held captive in chains.‘’I don’t mean to impose, but the Grandmaster has a great many ships. I may even have stolen the access codes to his security system.’’
All eyes turn to Loki. Valkyrie throws her bottle at him. It smashes above his head. Loki winces.
‘’And suddenly you’re overcome with an urge to do the right thing.’’ Valkyrie raises an eyebrow, setting her hands on her hips
Loki chuckles a devious smile. ‘’Heavens, no. I’ve run out of favor with the Grandmaster. And in exchange for codes and access to a ship, I’m asking for safe passage through the wormhole’’
‘’You’re telling us you can get us access into the garage without setting off any alarms?’ Thor steps forward in Loki’s direction, intrigued by his brother’s offer.
‘’Yes, brother. I can.’’
Banner whistles drawing Thor and Valkyrie’s attention. The three of them huddle together, debating Loki’s offer.‘’Okay, can I just… A quick FYI, I was just talking to him just a couple minutes ago and he was totally ready to kill any of us.’’
‘’He did try to kill me.’’ Valkyrie concurs.
Thor huddles closer and chimes into the conversation with a horrific childhood memory.‘’Yes, me too. On many, many occasions. There was one time when we were children, He transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes. So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it and he transformed back into himself and he was like, “Yeah, it’s me!” And he stabbed me. We were eight at the time.’’ Banner shakes head in disgust as a horrified look leaves his face. Valkyrie furrows her eyebrows and doesn’t seem the least bit impressed. Loki suppresses a smile.
‘’If we’re boosting a ship, we’re gonna need to draw some guards away from the palace,’’ Valkyrie explains in Thor’s direction
‘’Why not set the beast lose?’’ Loki mutters, his eye staring at the floor.
‘’Shut up.’’ Thor points his fingers and adverts his attention to Loki
‘’You guys have a beast?’’ Valkyrie questions, smiling excitedly from ear to ear.
‘’No, there’s no beast. He’s just being stupid. We’re going to start a revolution.’’ Thor mumbles
‘’Revolution?’’ Banner asks
‘’I’ll explain later.’’ Thor whispers, glancing at Banner
‘’Who’s this guy again?’’ Valkyrie questions, motioning to Banner
‘’I’ll explain later.’’
†††
Korg sits with his cellmates. He’s talking to Miek. ‘’Is that some sort of protoplasm, all the stuff that’s coming out of you? Or are they eggs? Looks like eggs.’’ He asks Miek, as a purple like liquid spills out of him.
Suddenly the obedience disk of Korg and his cellmates powers down and stops glowing. As Korg stands up, another rock falls off of his body and Valkyrie appears at the door to his cell. She marches inside while holding a high-tech rifle. ‘’I’m looking for Korg.’’
‘’Who’s asking? I know you’re asking. Is anyone else asking, or is it just you?’’
Valkyrie tosses him the high-tech rifle. ‘’The Lord of Thunder sends his best.’’
Korg proudly catches the rifle, ‘’The revolution has begun…’’
-
Inside the Warsong ship Valkyrie is all focus, as she fires shot after shot, trying to keep the Grandmaster at bay, and flies across Asgard. Banner nervously sits shotgun. ‘’Good shot!’’ Banner compliments.
‘’Thanks.’’
-
Thor’s ship and Valkyrie’s ship now zip through the city in tandem. On the horizon, we can see the Statesman, the enlarged Grandmaster, and his Riot Control team raining down hell on the revolting prisoners.
Inside the commodore ship Thor sits in the pilot’s seat. Valkyrie comes in over the radio. ‘’Open the doors.’’ She commands. Thor looks over the console and flips a switch.
While Inside the Warsong ship, Valkyrie steers down, dropping altitude. Her whole ship spins upside down, yet her cockpit is still right-side up. Valkyrie turns to Banner and chuckles, ‘’I hope that you’re tougher than you look.’’
‘’Why?’’ Banner turns to her unaware of what’s to come.
Valkyrie maxes out the throttle. The ship accelerates. When she’s under Thor’s ship, Valkyrie presses the eject button and Banner is launched upward into the sky and out of the ship. He begins to flare his arms all around and a shrieking scream leaves his mouth.
Thor sits at the controls inside the Commodore. An incoming scream of increasing volume can be heard. “aaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH’’ Banner is shot up into the ship and has a rough landing. He struggles to stand as he grabs onto the floor and crawls into the ship.
Thor chuckles at his friend and then returns his focus back to the piloting the ship. The ship is being fired upon by another pursuit vehicle.
‘’Hey Loki’’ Bruce waves in Loki’s direction. ‘’Wait, why are still tied up -?’’ Bruce raises an eyebrow. ‘’Brother tried to kill me again while we were distracting the guards. The chains are for safe measure.’’ Thor shouts over his shoulder from the cockpit.
‘’Hi, I’m Korg and this is my friend Miek. It’s nice to meet ya. Here for the revolution.’’ Bruce turns to his right and jumps back as Korg addresses him. He gives a tight-lipped smile and a nod in Korg’s direction. Banner turns his direction to the floor as rocks fall off of Korg’s body. ‘’Thor…Who is he again?’’
‘’He’s a friend that I met in the contest of champions. I’ll explain later’’
‘’Shouldn’t we be shooting back or something?’’ Banner asks, trying to catch his breath as he’s finally able to stand upright.
‘’Yes, we should,’’ Thor confirms. He realizes they’re going to need some help to win this battle. ‘’Where are the guns on this ship?’’ he asks Valkyrie, into the radio.
‘’There aren’t any. It’s a leisure vessel.’’ Valkyrie answers back between firing shots.’’Grandmaster uses it for his good times, orgies and stuff’’
Thor and Banner look around. The ceiling has mirrors on it and the floor is covered in a Sakaarian Persian rug. ‘’Did she just say the Grandmaster uses it for orgies?’’ Banner yells from behind Thor. ‘’Yeah. Don’t touch anything.’’ Thor replies, trying to get rid of the fire from behind.
Valkyrie’s ship is hit. She rotates the cockpit to face backward and opens fire, taking out the attacking chase-ship. But now in Val’s cockpit… Sparks. Smoke. Alarms. In the distance, Valkyrie clocks the Grandmaster’s Riot Ship raining terror down on the masses. A look of determination as she pops the hatch above - her ship is now a convertible.
Warsong zooms out from under Thor’s ship, still accelerating. Valkyrie has turned her ship into a missile, and its trajectory is the Grandmaster’s riot control ship! Grandmaster is still taunting his former captives below when suddenly, Warsong slams into the Statesman, specifically the Grandmaster’s projection! Enlarged Grandmaster stumbles, struggling to maintain his balance.
Warsong explodes while the Statesman is knocked off kilter and goes down for a hard landing in the market!
Thor and Banner witness the fiery explosion of Valkyrie’s kamikaze flight path. ‘’NO’’ Thor paincks. His heart sinks and sadness falls over him for a second. And then he notices a spec coming out of the explosion. All of a sudden, Valkyrie hits the ship’s windshield and grabs hold as residual smoke wafting off of her.
Thor pilots the ship out of the city into the Wastelands as six Sakaarian fighter ships race after them information. The fight proceeds as the ships battle across the Wastelands and then out over the Sakaarian Ocean.
Valkyrie is still on the windshield. A beat and a shot of gunfire. One of the pursuing ships wings the Commodore, causing it to lurch. ‘’Get inside!’’ Thor mouths to Valkyrie, squinting his eyes to see her as he fights the Sakaaran sunlight blaring against the ship’s windows.
‘’In a minute!’’ Valkyrie yells back. She pulls herself up and then runs down the roof of the ship. Thor and Banner follow the thumping of her footsteps. In full sprint, Valkyrie leaps off and lands hard on the lead Sakaarian ship. She begins tearing into the enemy ship with her bare hands!
Thor and Banner exchange a look. A beat. Thor motions for Banner to take his place as pilot of the ship and leaps out of the chair, ‘’I should probably go and help.’’ Thor abruptly exits, leaving Banner at the ship’s controls. ‘’Here, take the wheel.’’
Banner takes a seat, but shakes his head in protest, ‘’No. I don’t know how to fly one of these.’’
‘’You’re a scientist. Use one of your PhDs.’’ Thor encourages.
‘’None of them are for flying alien spaceships!’’
-
Thor leaps into the middle of the high-speed battle. Thor and Valkyrie seem almost superhuman, as the two Asgardians begin jumping between their pursuer’s ships, taking out guns, engines, and pilots with their bare hands.
Thor rips out an engine block and uses it to crush a pilot. Valkyrie drags her blades down the entire underbelly of a ship before backflipping to another. The two of them go back and forth, passing each other mid-flight a few times. One by one the Sakaarian ships go down.
Banner is frantically steering the ship, doing his best to dodge all the incoming fire. He peels away and is followed by Topaz, who is in her own chase-ship. Banner notices a button with a little explosion icon. ‘’Okay, come on. There’s gotta be a gun on this thing. That looks like a gun.’’ He frantically mutters to himself. Banner presses the button.
The ship’s lighting changes, like a disco effect. Weird dance music blasts over the PA, followed by Grandmaster’s voice. ‘’It’s MY BIRTHDAY! It’s MY BIRTHDAY! It’s MY BIRTHDAY.’’
Banner is so confused. Then he hears fireworks.
Massive plumes of powder paint shoot out of the ship followed by a huge colorful fireworks display. And then a rainforest’s worth of confetti is dumped from the hull. Topaz is suddenly in the middle of a party smoke screen! She tries to fly her way through all the fireworks and streamers, but ultimately she hits a hard crash landing in the ocean.
‘’Yeah!’’ Banner smiles to himself
Meanwhile, Thor and Valkyrie land together on the one remaining Sakaarian ship. Valkyrie leaks a smile to Thor. Thor yanks off the cockpit cover, Valkyrie tosses the pilot, and together they push forward on the throttle. The ship speeds forward. Just then Banner pulls the Commodore back on the scene, hovering above them. They leap up towards the Commodore’s open doors as the ship crashes and explodes behind them!
Thor and Valkyrie join Banner in the cockpit of the Commodore.
‘’Guys, we’re coming up on the Wormhole’’ Valkyrie shouts. ‘’Here we go!’’
The Commodore ship is swallowed up by the towering nightmare that is the wormhole.
The ship’s onboard computer shorts out. Darkness in the cabin. All around them the hull creaks. They’re under strain.
The Commodore heads toward the end of the wormhole. Debris flies all around. Thor, Valkyrie, Loki, Korg, and Banner are all in extreme pain, as their ship is being torn apart.
-
The ship finally landed in Xandar. The Revengers all crawled to their feet as they made a crash landing. Korg carried Miek as he went to help the other to their feet. At that moment, the ship door was opened, Rhomann Dey stood at the door in confusion. ‘’What do we have here. Another ship with a crash landing? That’s a popular theme today.’’
‘’We’re just traveling through to get to Asgard. We’re fine.’’ Valkyrie spoke, standing up from off the ground. ‘’You all seem to have landed pretty hard. Let’s get you all settled checked out’’ Rhomann Dey waved his hand, dismissing her explanation. Thor, Loki, Bruce, and Korg all followed behind as he led the way. ‘’We’re fine, really’’ Valkyrie shook her head, trying her find her balance.
‘’I need a drink actually. Do you know where a bar is? Ah, nevermind…I’ll find it.’’ Valkyrie limped off to find the nearest bar as the remaining revengers stayed behind.
†††
Gamora practically bum-rushed her way into the bar, the hard stomp of her boots ringing through the floorboards. This current mission was a lot more stressful than she originally thought. But, right now her focus wasn’t about the mission. It was on alcohol.
The crowd parted to make way for her arrival instantly, partially because of their recollection of her work with the battle of Xandar, but also partially because of the look of utter exhaustion and irritation spread across her face. Gamora threw herself into one of the barstools with an exhale of satisfaction, alleviating the ache in the arches of her feet, before turning towards the bartender. “A beer, please.”
A slow chuckle to her right jolted her out of the thoughts racing about in her brain. “I can’t tell if you just had the best or worst job of your life.”
Gamora couldn’t help but laugh, before turning towards the other woman. “Ugh. A lot has happened in the past few days…I’ve been on some missions…and my ship crash…and now here I am.” She sighed sheepishly towards the ground, raising an eyebrow at the large beer stein in the women’s hands. “What about you. Bad day?”
“On the contrary,” Valkyrie grinned impishly, pursing her lips as she raised her glass in victory. “I had a damn good day. So I’m celebrating.”
Now Gamora was curious, turning in the squeaky barstool to face her. “Celebrating what?”
“If you must know, I successfully avoided getting sucked into a black hole in Sakaar, lead a ship full of three idiot dudes, a robot, and a talking pile of rocks safely to Xandar, and in about eighteen months I will be in Asgard just in time to stab a sword through the bloody dying guts of the ugly hag that ruined my life” Valkyrie replied with a giddy smile.
The bartender returned with Gamora’s drink, Gamora thanked him before returning her attention to the conversation.
“So, what happened on these mission of yours that made your ship crash and made you land here? And where’s the rest of your team”
“What’s with all the questions?”
“I’m a damn good judge of character. You seem like someone I can stand the company of while I’m sober. and I would like some company. That’s rare. I like that. Plus, I don’t feel like going back to my shipmates right now and I have all night. So, spill”
“Well…My shipmate, he is from Earth and found his biological father. His father needed up being a living planet aiming for universal domination. We killed him, his death has caused destruction on Xandar, and here I am ” Gamora added. “Sometimes I think I’m the only sane member of my team. I just needed a break.”
Valkyrie did not seem the least bit surprised by Gamora’s travels. Gamora assumed by her reaction, she had experienced something similar.
Valkyrie nearly snorted into her beer mug. “I assume that there’s nothing out of the ordinary or odd about you?” She stared drunkenly into Gamora’s eyes searching for a response.
Gamora slammed down her bottle a little harder than necessary on the bar. “You don’t know me,” she warned, her eyes darkening. Valkyrie was surprised that the outburst was brought on through sobriety. Gamora had only taken a couple sips of beer.
“Relax, I didn’t mean anything by it.” Valkyrie waved a hand in her general direction as if it explained everything she was trying to convey. “And I mean, I’d like to…to get to know you”
“I’m not really the sharing type” Gamora laughed, trying to lighten the tone that was sharper she intended, though Valkyrie didn’t seem all that offended. “Neither, I am but like I said, I’ve got all night.”
Valkyrie stared down her mug for a moment, swishing it around with a flick of her wrist. She seemed almost mesmerized by the movement. Gamora inferred by the numerous finished bottles next to her that she was inebriated.
“I remember you mentioned Asgard earlier. Is that where you came from? Are you Asgardian?” Gamora asked, breaking Valkyrie’s trance. “Yeah, I hated it there. Most of them are conceited. The whole damn history is based on family feud and ego.” Valkyrie took another generous swig. “Yeah, ‘Asgardian pride’ my ass.”
When Valkyrie seemed like she wasn’t going to elaborate, Gamora instead turned in her stool to face the rest of the bar, observing the other people around here. Some people were playing darts, and others were engrossed in conversation at the pool tables.
“And what about before Sakaar?” Gamora asked reverting her attention back to Valkyrie. “I’ve heard tales of it…but I’ve never been there.”
“I moved to Sakaar…after leaving Asgard,” Valkyrie said and continued. “I never really had a problem there. I had more freedom there, honestly. It’s just that the freedom was weird. The Grandmaster always favored me as his best scrapper. But, I could never to go long without a find or there would be consequ-”
Very suddenly, midway through her thought, a sobering look passed her face, her eyes somewhat glassy as she fixated on some random spot behind the bar. Gamora turned to see if she could tell what Valkyrie was looking at, but she was simply just staring off into space. Valkyrie starred directly at the wall into space while continuing her trai of thought, “Valkyrie. Valkyrie is my name. Well, my nickname. It’s the title I had back on Asgard. I led a battalion of women called the Valkyrie who would guide the fallen to Valhalla. And, one day, we had to battle Hela. It didn’t end well.”
“Meaning…” Gamora asked, although her mind already arrived at the most probable conclusion.
“Meaning I’m the only one left…Just like you.” She slammed her mug viciously against the counter, as beer spilled everywhere.
“You know, I’ve been around for awhile. I’ve seen a lot and heard a lot. I’ve heard about you. The ‘deadliest woman in the galaxy’, isn’t that what they call you? And didn’t you lost your family? I know a little bit of what that’s like.”
Gamora could feel her fingernails digging into her palms, though she knew Valkyrie didn’t mean any harm. That was a personal gripe with her identity that needed to be dealt with. Maybe she did have more in common with this stranger in the bar than she realized. She could tell from the way that she spoke of her past life, Valkyrie was recovering from years and years of trauma, just trying to survive, just like her. Gamora remembered that feeling before she had the Guardians. And now being apart of the Guardians had made her more comfortable, being susceptible to love, and people that genuinely care. She could tell Valkyrie would need time to get to that point herself, and people that would put in that time to help. Gamora wanted to be that person.
“It’s not something I like to relive,” Gamora murmured. “And I imagine the same goes for you.”
“I had to watch her sacrifice herself…right in front of me.” Valkyrie glanced at Gamora, “My…my girlfriend.” She then let out an unsettlingly painful laugh. “Why am I telling you this? God, I must be really fucking drunk.’’
“We don’t have to talk about all this now,” Gamora offered with a kind smile. She was admittedly incredibly curious, but it wasn’t the right time, the right place, and neither of them were in the right state of mind. Her own thoughts were feeling muddled as her brain felt buzzed.
“Good, because I don’t want to,” Valkyrie said shortly, though not unkindly. “Tell me, is there anything fun to do around here? I haven’t been in Xandar in awhile. I have already been to all the places that serve good alcohol on this planet, but what if I want to just fight? Not for my life, but just for the fun of it I love a good sparring match.”
Gamora smiled a little at this. She had never fought simply for the fun of it. Only to stay alive and see another day. The thought of it was fun. Her thoughts than lingered to how uneasy Valkyrie had seemed just moments ago. It was obviously uncomfortable and sensitive territory. She brought herself back to reality and out of her haze.
“I don’t. But, if I find any, I will be sure to let you know. You seem like the kind of person that’s good with a sword.”
“Thank you,” Valkyrie nodded. She leaned in a little, poking Gamora in the shoulder with a single finger. It was clear that if she wasn’t before, she was well on her way to being tipsy. “Y’know what, Gamora? You’re not so bad. You’ve got a real hard edge, but I could get used to someone like that.”
As Valkyrie leaned in to poke, Gamora starred closely at the woman. She had a face that was stunningly beautiful, a beautiful mischievous child-like smile, wise but warm eyes, accompanied by amazing muscles and an unforgettable confidence.
Valkyrie starred closely at Gamora and studied her as she leaned in to poke her. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with mysterious eyes, amazing bone structure, vibrant ombre hair, and an effortlessly badass aura.
“Keep in contact?” Gamora asks, bringing them both out of their respective trances. “I could use someone outside of the crew on my ship.”
“As could I,” Valkyrie says. “Especially someone as gorgeous as you.” Gamora smiles for a second.
“Thank you,” Gamora replies. “I will see you soon, Valkyrie.” Gamora gets up from her bar stool, pays her tab, and lays a small piece of paper on the counter with her contact information inside.
The name Valkyrie had never sounded as perfect than it did coming from Gamora’s lips. Even more perfect than Valkyrie’s favorite weapons.
Valkyrie let out a nervous hearty laugh, to distract from her notable flirting a couple moments ago.
“One more?”
“Sure,” Gamora replied, shortly before returning to her barstool and getting a refilled bottle, as did Valkyrie, to clink their beers.
A/N: Updates will be every Wednesday. This and the next two to three chapters will all be set up for what’s to come. I included a good chunk of Ragnarok to refresh your memory. GOTG2 takes place in 2014 but please suspended belief that it and Ragnarok both take place in 2016, for sake of this story. Thank you so much for reading!
Hey, if I continued this story…would you all read it?
As election anxiety continues to grip the United States, I felt like I had to say something, because I see so many people posting about how, “no matter who wins, we’ll all be okay, and the reality is, for a lot of people, that simply isn’t true.
It’s been four years, and there are still so many people who think that my objections and concerns about the current administration are simply a matter of politics, a matter of red versus blue, and right versus left, and that’s not the reality.
So here’s the truth, at least from my perspective. I’m not upset because you disagree with me. I’m not upset or fearful over politics.
I’m anxious, upset, and afraid because my ability to live freely and authentically in this world seems to be up for debate every time we have an election, or appoint a new Supreme Court justice, and, frankly, it’s exhausting.
For many marginalized people this election was never about "politics ”, or “differences of opinion”, it was about our right to live in the world as our authentic selves, and our very ability to survive.
I didn’t get to see the pier though because it’s closed.
First time going somewhere since quarantine.
So many people at the beach weren’t wearing masks. What do they not get . There’s a virus out killing the younge and old and to lessen deaths all you have to do is wear a mask. It’s not hard. Also a couple had like a new born out with no mask or any protection. Not trying to judge but if I had a baby I wouldn’t let my new born out during this pandemic. Especially with out protection. I can’t even see my grandparents because of this and I fear they are going to die soon due to age and I don’t even get to spend time with them v.v but it’s for their safety. This just sucks so hard and some people aren’t even trying to protect themselves and others around them.
I met my girl when I was a freshman in college walking home from the library one night. She was on a blanket in her front lawn looking up at the stars and she told me to join her.
That was ten years ago. This summer she became my wife.
