CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The A-Team

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            GIVEN THE VASTNESS OF the universe, it didn't take nearly as long as Cecelia expected before they arrived at their destination (which seemed to be a common occurrence, today). In fact, it was only a few hours after Mr. Stark and Doctor Strange had sat her and Peter down and explained everything about Thanos—the one that had truly been behind the attack on New York in 2012—and the Infinity Stones. During that time, Cecelia had been curled up with her back against the wall, trying to breathe through the piercing waves of anxiety that seized her chest. It was truly settling in now just how big of a situation she and Peter had gotten themselves in. This Thanos—an alien set on collecting all six Infinity Stones, one of which Doctor Strange was toting around, and wiping out half of the universe—had more power than Cecelia could ever comprehend. It would take a straight-up miracle for them to ever even get close to beating him.

But they would have to.

So Cecelia sat there, with nothing but the clothes on her back, and forced herself to take deep breaths. Peter had been beside her at first, but then boredom had overtaken him, and he'd settled for walking up and down the walls. Doctor Strange—who Cecelia certainly wasn't a fan of, given his apparent willingness to let her, Peter, and Mr. Stark die, along with his grumpy demeanour that nearly mirrored her own—kept his eyes glued to the window, occasionally muttering to himself, and Mr. Stark paced so much it was a wonder he wasn't wearing a hole into the ground.

But then, abruptly, a planet came into being outside the window, and the ship hurtled its way toward it. When it started dipping, entering the atmosphere, Cecelia got to her feet. Rocky terrain and strange structures she'd never seen before came into view, growing larger and larger as they approached. Peter, rocked by the movement, leaped onto the ground and asked, "Hey, what's going on?"

"I think we're here," Doctor Strange said.

"I don't think this rig has a self-park function," Mr. Stark pointed out. "Get your hand inside the steering gimbal. Close those around it. You got it?"

"Yep, got it," said Peter, copying Mr. Stark's instructions. Cecelia stood behind him, ready to step in if needed, but it appeared that this was a two-person job. Well, a two-person job for people their size.

"This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time," Mr. Stark said, confirming her suspicions.

"Okay, okay. Ready?" Peter asked, preparing himself. As the ship approached one of the structures, his eyes widened. "We might, uh, wanna turn. Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Mr. Stark flipped his helmet down and Cecelia latched onto Peter's arm, trying not to let herself be knocked about. "Keep going!" she instructed. "Come on, Peter, this way!"

They did veer to the side, but not enough. The ship caught onto the structure, the pressure of which caused everything inside to jolt. Cecelia lost her grip on Peter and went flying one way, landing hard on her ass, and Peter let out a gasp. Doctor Strange held out his hands, and a web of orange energy surrounded the group, keeping them all protected. When the spaceship rocked again and Cecelia slid over to its borders, she was grateful to be stopped in her tracks.

She closed her eyes, becoming intangible just as the ship—or what remained of the ship; Cecelia was pretty sure it had been split in half—smashed into the ground. Yet again, Cecelia was knocked off her feet, and it was likely only due to Peter's super-strength that he didn't follow. She landed flat on her back and remained there, watching as the ship rolled forward, kicking up plumes of dirt. Fortunately, it didn't take long before it finally came to a shuddering halt.

Peter, upside-down and gasping, offered Cecelia a hand. She dipped her own into the floor to show him she still wasn't solid before getting up on her own. When she was on both feet again, she let her body come together.

"You all right?" Doctor Strange asked, pulling Mr. Stark up.

Mr. Stark nodded. "That was close. I owe you one."

"I genuinely think that was the worst ride I've ever had," Cecelia said, nauseous. "And I've been in a car with Alex."

Peter, still upside-down, descended on a strand of web. "Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something and I eat one of you, I'm sorry."

"I do not want another single pop culture reference out of you for the rest of the trip," Mr. Stark snapped. "Do you understand?"

"I'm trying to say that something is coming," Peter said.

Everyone whirled around just as what appeared to be a ball rolled at their feet, then exploded. In a burst of orange energy, all four of them were blown backwards. Cecelia went soaring right toward one of the steering gimbals and became intangible again right before she smashed into it. She rolled once, twice, then sprung to her feet just as five figures burst through the door.

One of them wore a mask with glowing red eyes, two guns held out before them. There was also a shirtless person with two knives, who immediately threw one towards them with a cry of "Thanos!" Doctor Strange blocked the hit with his orange energy, and the person let out an enraged roar.

As Doctor Strange threw his cloak at his attacker, a third figure sent two twin beams of energy toward Cecelia. They passed through her, and her assailant yelped, springing forwards. They were quickly followed by someone else, a slim figure with their own pair of gleaming knives.

The masked figure battled Mr. Stark, soaring through the air on their own pair of rocket boots, and Mr. Stark followed, repulsors whirring. Doctor Strange went for the shirtless one while the third and the fourth came for Cecelia, letting out nearly identical war cries. The first, a woman, snarled and swung for Cecelia's face, cursing when her fist went straight through her skin. The second slashed at Cecelia's throat. Again, nothing happened.

"What the fuck?" the first woman asked. "You fucking bastard!"

Cecelia cocked her head, then became solid right in time to deliver a kick to the woman's leg. She'd been favouring it, limping a little during her run, which made it the perfect spot for an attack. And, indeed, it immediately buckled under Cecelia's blow. With a curse, the woman fell to the ground.

"Hey!" The second attacker hissed. With a blur of steel, they aimed for Cecelia's throat again, but she ducked under it and rolled to the side, just in time to see Peter webbing up their fifth and final assailant. There was a whir as the masked one came for him, but Cecelia didn't have time to see what happened, because the knife-wielding attacker was aiming for her again. She rolled, then swung her fist. It was caught in a surprisingly soft hand and thrown to the side.

A knife was held to Cecelia's throat, but she became intangible and shoved her way through it in an instant. Then she landed a punch to their face and throat. The attacker let out a choked gasp and slumped to the ground.

The first attacker had seemingly recovered from Cecelia's blows, as she'd jumped to her feet again. But before she could do anything, a male voice rang across the ship.

"Everybody stay where you are. Chill the eff out."

Cecelia turned. Then she took in the scene in front of her:

Doctor Strange and Mr. Stark were both on their feet, preparing to shoot if needed. But the masked figure had Peter trapped in a headlock, a gun to his head and some kind of rope pinning his arms to his sides. Another alien—and it was an alien, with bulbous eyes and antenna sprouting from its head—was teetering, wrapped up by Peter's webs. The third, with gray skin and a bulky form, was at Mr. Stark's feet.

The figure Cecelia had disabled was another alien—this time with hot pink skin, ridges on its cheeks, and black hair tucked into a bun at the nape of its neck. It was only the woman, holding her guns out, that appeared human—she had light brown skin, fairly normal brown eyes, and wavy hair tucked into a single braid. Still, she wore a silvery jumpsuit, the likes of which Cecelia had never seen on Earth.

But then the masked figure holding Peter pressed a button, and another human-like face—this one of an adult man—appeared. Cecelia paused, but raised her hands when he trained the gun on her. The woman did, too, her mouth set into a snarl.

"I'm gonna ask you this one time," the man growled. "Where is Gamora?"

"Yeah, I'll do you one better," Mr. Stark said, releasing his helmet. "Who's Gamora?"

"I'll do you one better," said the gray-skinned alien. "Why is Gamora?"

"Tell me where the girl is or I swear to you I'm gonna French fry this little freak," said the man.

"Like hell you are," Cecelia spat. She pressed a boot onto the pink-skinned alien's neck. "You hurt him, and I kill whoever this is."

"You're not touching xyr," the woman hissed.

"Oh, yeah, let's do it!" Mr. Stark shouted. "You shoot my guy and I'll blast him. Let's go!"

A taser appeared on his wrist, trained on the gray-skinned alien. Unfortunately, it did flinch at the sight of the electric prongs. Instead, it cried, "Do it, Quill! I can take it."

"No, he can't take it!" the alien with the antenna protested.

"She's right. You can't," said Doctor Strange.

"Nor can you take a face full of my stunners," Cecelia hissed to the pink-skinned alien.

"Oh, yeah?" the man snarled. "You don't wanna tell me where she is? That's fine. I'll kill all four of you and I'll beat it out of Thanos myself." He glared at Peter. "Starting with you."

Cecelia blinked. Huh?

"Wait, what, Thanos?" Doctor Strange said. "All right, let me ask you this one time. What master do you serve?"

"What master do I serve?" the man repeated. "What am I supposed to say, 'Jesus'?"

Mr. Stark sighed. "You're from Earth."

"I'm not from Earth, I'm from Missouri."

"Yeah, that's on Earth, dipshit. What are you hassling us for?"

"So you're not with Thanos?" Peter asked.

"With Thanos?" the man repeated incredulously. "No, I'm here to kill Thanos. He took my girl."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're not the only one with a grudge," the woman said. "I say whoever gets there first calls dibs."

"Wait, who are you?" the man asked.

Peter disengaged his mask. "We're the Avengers, man."

"Oh." The man finally loosed his grip on Peter's neck. Cecelia sighed and lifted her boot off of the pink-skinned alien's neck. A wheeze escaped their throat, and the woman bent down to help them up, slinging an arm around their shoulders. She glared at Cecelia reproachfully.

"You're the ones Thor told us about," the alien with the antenna said.

"You know Thor?" Mr. Stark asked.

"Yeah." the man nodded. "Tall guy, not that good-looking, needed saving."

Cecelia snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Where is he now?" Doctor Strange asked.

"Off trying to build a hammer," the woman said. "Two of our guys went with him."

"Okay," Mr. Stark said. "How about you guys tell us who you are?"

"We're the Guardians of the Galaxy," the pink-skinned alien said.

"Never heard of you."

"Really?" the man asked. "We've kind of gotten a reputation."

"Clearly you don't," Cecelia said.

He narrowed his eyes. "How old are you, twelve?"

"Ha, ha. I'm sixteen, asshole."

"Well, clearly the Avengers aren't as elite as Thor made it out to seem," the woman said. "I mean, come on. They're clearly desperate for recruits."

"Says the woman who just got her ass kicked by the twelve-year-old."

"Okay, enough," Doctor Strange said. "Clearly, we've both got the same goal. We're going after Thanos, you're going after Thanos—we might as well work together. So... Guardians, you might as well introduce yourselves."

"I'm Solaris Magdalene," the woman piped up immediately. "My pronouns are she/her. I'm the best hacker in the galaxy. And I'm going to be the one who kills Thanos. He—he destroyed my entire planet. Right after I fucking saved it."

Her fists twitched, and barely concealed grief and rage shone in her eyes. The pink-skinned alien put a hand on her shoulder, then drew her into an embrace. The woman sunk into it, trembling.

"I'm Cyrus," the alien said. "Cyrus Nadir. Xe/xyr. Kylorian. Sol's partner. Also the one who makes sure she doesn't get alcohol poisoning."

"I am Drax the Destroyer," the gray-skinned alien on the ground piped up. "Thanos is the reason my wife and daughter are dead. I am not letting him get away unscathed."

"I am Mantis," the alien with the antenna introduced. "I am a female of my species."

"And I'm Quill. Peter Quill," the man finished. "Uh, he/him. Also known as Star-Lord. You've probably heard of me."

"I can assure you, I have not," Doctor Strange said.

Peter grinned. "Hey, your name's Peter? I'm Peter, too! Peter Parker. Spider-Man. Yeah."

"Okay, so we've got David Hasselhoff Junior, Ladybug, Mr. Clean, Pink Panther, and Ripley," Mr. Stark listed. "Nice bunch. I'm Tony Stark, this is Dumbledore and Samara from The Ring."

"Her name's actually Cecelia," Peter said. "Alter-ego is Phantom, because she can walk through walls and stuff."

"Thanks, Peter," Cecelia said.

"No problem!"

Doctor Strange didn't even comment on the Dumbledore thing.

THE PLANET—TITAN, APPARENTLY—had an atmosphere so similar to Earth that everyone was able to breathe in its air safely. This did make sense—Thanos's minions hadn't at all been fazed by the air on Earth—but it was still incredibly strange. When Cecelia stepped outside without her mask on and took in the desolate landscape of Titan, she had to remind herself that this was a whole different planet. She was billions of light years away, and yet, this could have been home.

Well. A dilapidated version of home, anyway.

"The hell happened to this planet?" Quill asked, holding up an alien device. "It's eight degrees off its axis. Gravitational pull is all over the place."

Indeed, behind him, Mantis was bouncing, each jump lifting her higher than it typically would on Earth. Magdalene was shifting from foot to foot, looking as if she quite wanted to join her, but she was still favouring her left leg and leaning on Nadir for support.

"Yeah, we got one advantage," Mr. Stark said. "He's coming to us. We'll use it. All right, I have a plan. Or at least the beginnings of one."

The group—which had grown from four to nine, which gave them far better odds in Cecelia's opinion—gathered around him to hear what he had to say. Well, everyone except for Doctor Strange, who was seemingly meditating a foot off the ground. Cecelia stayed close to Peter, still unnerved by all of these strangers. Nadir, who apparently had magical pockets that gave you whatever you needed, had offered her water and a bag of something labelled Zargnuts, and Cecelia had barely managed to thank xyr for it. Still, the taste resembled chestnuts, and stopped the incessant growling in her stomach, so she supposed she should be grateful.

"Well, we thrive on the beginnings of a plan," Magdalene said as she approached. "The first time we saved the galaxy, it was on twelve percent of a plan."

"Good times," Quill agreed.

"Okay," Mr. Stark said. "Back to me, all right? The plan's pretty simple. We draw him in, pin him down, get what we need. Definitely don't wanna dance with this guy. We just want the gauntlet." Then his eyes narrowed. "Are you yawning?"

He was referring to Drax, whose mouth had indeed split open into a large yawn. He didn't seem taken aback by Mr. Stark's accusation, either—he just shrugged and smacked his lips.

"In the middle of this, while I'm breaking it down?" Mr. Stark continued. "Huh? Did you hear what I said?"

"I stopped listening after you said, 'We need a plan'," Drax admitted. Mantis grinned.

"Okay, Mr. Clean is on his own page."

"See, 'not winging it' isn't really what they do," Quill said.

"Uh, what exactly is it that they do?" Peter asked.

"Kick names, take ass," Mantis said. Magdalene nodded vigorously.

Mr. Stark sighed. "All right, just get over here, please. Mr. Lord, can you get your folks to circle up?"

"'Mr. Lord'," Quill repeated. "Star-Lord is fine."

"No one is going to call you Star-Lord," Cecelia muttered. Quill scowled.

"We gotta coalesce," Mr. Stark said, once Mantis, Drax, and Magdalene had gotten closer. Nadir, who had already been there, actually paying attention, rolled xyr eyes. "'Cause if all we come at him with is a plucky attitude..."

"Dude, don't call us plucky," Quill interrupted. "We don't know what it means."

Cecelia slapped a palm to her forehead. What kind of morons were these people?

"All right, we're optimistic, yes," he continued. "I like your plan. Except it sucks, so let me do the plan, and that way, it might be really good."

"Tell him about the dance-off to save the universe," Drax suggested. Nadir sighed.

"What dance-off?" Mr. Stark asked.

"It's nothing—it's nothing," Quill sputtered.

"Like in Footloose, the movie?" Peter asked.

"Exactly like Footloose. Is it still the greatest movie in history?"

"It never was."

"Okay, getting a little off-track here, aren't we?" Cecelia asked. "Also, Peter, you totally broke Mr. Stark's pop-culture rule."

"It was an unfair rule!"

Mr. Stark shook his head. "Don't encourage this, all right? We're getting no help from Flash Gordon here."

"Flash Gordon?" Quill repeated. "By the way, that's a compliment. Don't forget, I'm half-human. So that fifty percent of me that's stupid... that's one hundred percent you."

"Technically, Peter's not fully human," Cecelia pointed out. "You know, spider DNA. And I'm not sure I am, either. There's a reason why people treat us like shit."

"Well, whatever percentage of human you have left is still higher than my percent, so there."

"Your math is blowing my mind," Mr. Stark said dryly.

"Do I count?" Magdalene asked. "I mean, Xandarians do share like ninety-nine percent of their DNA with the Earthen Terrans, so... I hope you're not insulting me, Quill."

"You better not," Nadir threatened.

"Excuse me," Mantis interrupted. "But does your friend often do that?"

She was talking about Doctor Strange, whose meditation had been taken to the next level. His head swung back and forth so quickly it blurred together, and green magic threaded around his wrists. His eyes were still firmly closed, and he didn't even seem aware of where he was. Either he was sleeping, or the Time Stone was showing him something.

"Strange, we all right?" Mr. Stark called.

Doctor Strange's head continued to thrash for another few seconds before the light at his necklace faded. With a gasp, he fell back to the ground again, only managing to remain semi-upright with Mr. Stark's help.

"You're back," Mr. Stark said. Doctor Strange blinked rapidly, as if he was attempting to clear something from his eye.

"Hi," Doctor Strange breathed.

"Hey, what was that?" Peter asked.

"Time Stone shenanigans?" Cecelia suggested. Doctor Strange nodded.

"I went forward in time to view alternate futures. To see all the possible outcomes of the coming conflict."

Everyone went quiet, attempting to absorb this news. Cecelia took in a deep breath. She'd already known the basics of the Time Stone's power—after all, there had to be a reason Thanos wanted to get his hands on it—but hearing about it and seeing it in action were two very different things. The idea of visiting possible futures... it made her heart beat a little faster. How many were there where she died? How many were there where she told her parents everything? How many were there where she got stranded on Titan forever?

Quill was the first to break the silence. "How many did you see?"

"Fourteen million, six hundred and five."

"How many did we win?" Mr. Stark asked.

Doctor Strange seemed to be purposefully avoiding his gaze.

"One."

WHEN CECELIA HAD FIRST BEEN told that the West River Sioux Reservation—and all those within it—had been destroyed, the floor had disappeared beneath her feet. Suddenly, she'd been falling through an empty void, darkness surrounding her on all ends. There had been no ups or downs, just the infinite black that was her world without her family. Down and down she went, without pause, because there would never be a bottom to her well of grief—even at five years old, Cecelia was smart enough to know that death meant forever. That she was now alone.

It had taken a while, but she'd eventually been able to draw herself out of the void. Not because of anything she did, but because of the efforts of those around her to pull her back into the light. The kind nurse who gave her extra ice chips and hugged her once she was discharged from the hospital. Georgia, the better of Cecelia's two social workers, who sang her to sleep when her despair kept her awake. Her first foster parents, who, unlike the ones to come, actually made an effort to be there for her. Their extended hands had penetrated the darkness, and when Cecelia finally grabbed on, the light came rushing back.

It had been eleven years, and Cecelia hadn't been lost in that never-ending pit since. There had been times when she'd come close—when her foster siblings decided to make her life a living hell, particularly bad days with Richard, and that time a Priest had tried to convince her that the deaths of her family were for a greater purpose. The darkness had threatened, twisting at her ankles, but it hadn't yet managed to pull her in all the way.

But when Cecelia heard of her odds of beating Thanos, the darkness seemed to take hold of her once more.

The worst part was that it had been her own damn fault. She and Peter had decided to follow Mr. Stark into the unknown, knowing the danger they were walking into, and now it had come to meet them head-on. And Cecelia felt like such a coward, because no one else—not even Peter—was letting their terror consume them. Sure, they may have been a little grimmer after really hearing their odds, but no one else was in such a panic that their breaths couldn't come out any stronger than a wheeze.

And Cecelia wanted to try. She really did. Infinity Stones or not, powerful being or not, she wanted to be there with the others when the Mad Titan finally came knocking. She wasn't going to let anyone destroy the world she was slowly learning to love.

It was just... she was so scared.

She sat inside the Guardians' ship, the Milano-Nightfall, cradling a glass of water like it was a newborn child. Nadir—who always corrected Quill when he called the Milano-Nightfall 'his ship'—had invited her in when xe'd noticed she was looking a little green around the gills. Xe'd poured her another glass of water, then headed off to discuss things with Doctor Strange. Cecelia remained in the little kitchen. Occasionally, a few others—typically Quill or Drax—would stream through, but other than that, she was alone.

Well. Until Solaris Magdalene, in all of her broad-shouldered, long-limbed glory, ambled inside.

She didn't seem surprised to see Cecelia—Nadir had probably let her know she was there. Still, Cecelia expected her to get what she needed and leave, just like everyone else did. After all, they all had things to do. Preparations to make. Actually useful tasks to complete.

Instead, she opened the pantry, took out another bag of Zargnuts, and sat down beside Cecelia at the table.

Cecelia's hands tightened around her water glass, which was surprisingly similar to the ones found on Earth. She kept her eyes locked on the table, mentally tracing a scratch in the metal again and again. Magdalene broke open the bag of Zargnuts and started to eat. Cecelia silently recited all of the digits of pi she'd memorized.

She was just getting to the one-hundredth digit when Magdalene finally spoke. "Everything okay, Samara?"

Cecelia drummed her fingers against her thigh. "That's not my name."

"Oh, I know. It's what your dad calls you, though, isn't it?"

Cecelia had the misfortune been in the middle of another sip of water when Magdalene spoke, and promptly began to choke. She burst into a fit of coughing, tears streaming from her eyes, sputtering and gasping until Magdalene thumped her on the back and she finally expelled the water that had lodged in her airway.

Finally, when she could breathe fairly normally again (though not as well as she usually could—she was still so afraid), she narrowed her eyes at Magdalene. "He's not my dad."

"Oh," Magdalene said. "Oh. I kind of assumed he was, given the way he treats you. I mean, come on, he talks to you the same way Cy talks to Groot. He's in his teenage angst phase already, and xe's the only one who can get him off his electronics."

Cecelia blinked. "Who's Groot?"

"He's a Flora colossus. Though I suppose you have no idea what that is. Stars, you Terrans really don't get out there, do you?"

"I guess not."

"Basically, he's a living tree. He's on our team along with Rocket, who is what you would call a raccoon, and Gamora, who is... I don't know. Green."

"...Okay."

"But I'm getting off-track. Which is fucking stupid, because I'm totally sober. Anyway, I was gonna ask: if Iron Man isn't your dad, who is he to you?"

"My mentor," Cecelia responded. "He kind of—he kind of took me in. Well, me and Peter."

"Oh, nice. And he was fine with you coming along?"

"Not exactly. Peter and I... we kind of snuck aboard the ship."

Magdalene barked out a laugh. "Oh, brilliant! It's just like me when I was your age. I was just a baby intergalactic criminal, then, and I didn't really have anyone I could trust. So, when I wanted to get somewhere, I'd stow away on a supply ship for days, if not weeks. And I was only caught once."

Cecelia raised her eyebrows. Magdalene grinned.

"It's true!"

"And you were sixteen years old?"

"Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen... around there. See, everyone I had known was dead. My parents, my brother, my neighbours, my friends... all of them were wiped out when Ronan attacked my outpost. I had to do what I could to survive."

Cecelia's breath caught. "What?"

"Oh. Oh, sorry. I don't think we have time for my whole tragic backstory, so here's the gist of it: Thanos used to have a lackey named Ronan. I say 'used to' because he's dead. We killed him. But, um, Ronan really fucking hated Xandarians, and even when the Kree-Nova war ended, he still wanted to murder us. So, he went from outpost to outpost, massacring as many of us as he could. It's only because my brother hid me that I'm alive and kicking today."

"Creator," Cecelia breathed. "I'm sorry."

"It fucking sucks," Magdalene admitted. "Especially since—especially since Thanos finished the job. Four years ago, we killed Ronan to stop him from destroying Xandar. But now I learned that—I learned from Thor that just—just a week ago, Thanos came for the Power Stone. We had given it to the Nova Prime to keep it out of the wrong hands. But Thanos—Thanos found it anyway. And he killed... he killed everyone. Except me. Because I wasn't there."

"I get it," Cecelia whispered. Magdalene blinked.

"You do? No offense, but when I usually tell this story, people get all weepy-eyed. They don't, uh, relate."

"I lost everyone, too," Cecelia admitted. "When I was five years old. The reservation I used to live on... there was an accident at a nearby factory. It caused an explosion. The shockwave destroyed everything, killed everyone. Except for me."

Magdalene's breath hitched. "Oh."

"That's how I got my abilities. Something about the radiation changed me. Fun, right?"

"I'm sorry," Magdalene said. "I mean, obviously I know how it feels, but... stars. I was thirteen years old when Ronan came to the outpost, and it was already traumatizing enough. I can't imagine being five."

"I guess," Cecelia said. "But you really can't compare it. Maybe I was younger when it happened, but the memories of it—they're blurrier now. Sometimes I don't even remember what my parents' faces looked like."

The confession was hard to force out, but she did it anyway. Because here was the first person who might understand.

"I'm sorry," Magdalene said again. "I mean—okay, fuck. I'm really bad at this. Last time someone told me about their traumatic childhood, I ended up killing a bunch of people. Granted, those people were going to sell us to the Sovereign, but still. I don't really do... emotions."

Cecelia nearly laughed. Not because anything about this situation was funny, but because of the blunt ways Magdalene told her stories, like she expected everyone to have gone through something similar. Though, perhaps it was a way of normalizing it. Taking the grief away. Like how Cecelia spoke about the rez to her friends.

"It's okay," she said. "I don't, either. Or... I didn't. Then I started therapy. Dr. Patel is very adamant that I don't bottle everything up anymore."

"Huh. Do you think I could have their contact information? It might be useful."

"I don't know if she takes Xandarians."

"Well, she could make an exception. I could pay her extra, too. I've got a lot of credits from my last job."

"Miss Magdalene—"

"Oh, stars no. Don't call me that. It's Sol. Please, it's Sol. 'Miss Magdalene' makes me sound like some stuffy priestess. And I have not had a good track record with priestesses."

"Okay."

"Yeah. Um..." Magdalene—Sol—shifted again. "Look, there's a reason I came to talk to you. I saw how you looked earlier, when your magical friend told us of our chances. And I just—I know we don't know each other that well, but I wanted to tell you that you could sit this out, if you want. There wouldn't be any shame in that. It's okay if you're afraid."

Cecelia loosed a breath. "I am afraid. Fucking terrified, really."

"So you don't have to come."

"But that's the thing, Sol. I—I want to. I want to be a hero. I was—I was a villain for far too long."

"A villain?"

"Please don't ask."

"Okay, I won't. But just make sure it's really what you want, okay? Don't force yourself into something you don't feel capable of doing."

Cecelia forced a smile. "I think I can manage," she said. "Besides, I'm not going to let you guys go out there and get your asses kicked without me."

Sol snorted. And, strangely, Cecelia felt a little more at ease.

Because the odds might not have been good. But at least they were going to try.

It was better than doing nothing.

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HAVEN: sol and cecelia bonding >>>>

also LET'S GO guardians of the galaxy!! and LET'S GO sol and cyrus!! even though i ended up deleting their fic, i still love their characters so much, and so them making an appearance here was perfect :))) i know there isn't a lot of context for their presences/backstories, but just roll with it lol. they're a part of the team, they're a couple, and they're awesome.

thanos battle next chapter!! plus... well... you'll know when you read the title. hope you're excited hehehe

thanks for reading!!