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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟒
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇

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Primrose sat in the chair beside Rocket as they began their journey into space. A wave of sorrow washed over her as she placed her hands on the controls in front of her. The Quill woman couldn't remember a time when Peter wasn't sitting in that chair. He would normally be the one co-piloting the Benatar with Rocket, not her. Primrose knew she shouldn't be the one in that chair. It just felt wrong to her. Everything felt wrong to her. But no one else knew how to pilot the Benatar other than her and Rocket. So even though it felt wrong, the Quill woman had no other choice than to sit in the chair...Peter's chair.

Conversations were happening around her, multiple by the sound of all the voices. But despite knowing she should probably listen, Primrose tuned everything out. Instead, her attention was glued to the glowing lights in front of her as her fingers continued to trace the buttons. It wasn't until Rocket called out to her that the Quill woman's attention finally moved away from the controls. The first thing Primrose saw was the concern in the raccoon's eyes as he stared at her, knowing exactly what was going through her head. And if she were being honest, the Quill woman wanted nothing more than to confide in Rocket. She wanted to tell him everything she was thinking, which surprised her. But they both knew that now wasn't the time for that.

So instead of asking the questions bouncing around in his head, Rocket turned his attention toward those sitting behind him. "Who here hasn't been to space?"

Primrose wasn't surprised when she saw Steve, Natasha, and Rhodey's hands rise into the air. She expected the three of them to be new to space travel. What she didn't expect was for Trina's hand to shoot up as well. The Quill woman suspected that the Felicity woman was from another planet with the abilities she had. She was almost certain she wasn't from Earth. But this wouldn't be the first time that Primrose was wrong.

"You better not throw up on my ship," Rocket told them while turning his attention back to the windshield, causing Primrose to copy his actions.

"Approaching jump in three..." the Quill woman announced as her eyes scanned over the small screen in front of her while pressing a button on the control panel, "two...one."

Not even a second after that passed when the Benatar's speed increased. The world around them was soon replaced by colorful lights as they traveled through the Jump Point. Despite traveling thousands of miles through space, they arrived at their destination within seconds. Primrose would be shocked by the planet in front of her if this were any other circumstance. It looked eerily similar to Earth, just with a bit more landmasses. But the Quill woman knew this wasn't a time to explore. They were there on a mission, and she intended to complete it.

Because she was distracted by the planet's appearance, Primrose failed to notice Carol and Trina leave the Benatar. That was until they were floating in space right in front of the ship. Once again, the Quill woman was taken by surprise. She knew that Carol could handle being out in space without a suit, especially since they sent her out to find Tony and Nebula. What she didn't understand was how Trina was able to as well. The Felicity woman was becoming more of a mystery by the second and Primrose was determined to get her answers, but she knew it would have to wait.

"We'll head down for recon," Carol announced, earning nods in response from those on the Benatar before she and Trina flew toward the planet.

Primrose's attention stayed glued to their trails of light until they vanished into the planet's atmosphere. But even after they disappeared, she didn't take her eyes off the windshield. A million different thoughts bounced around in the Quill woman's head as her fingers fiddled with her necklace. The same necklace Peter stole for her on his first Ravager mission. It wasn't long before she felt eyes on her, only for Primrose to find Rocket staring at her with concern in his eyes once again.

"What're you thinking, Prim?" the raccoon asked in a tone just loud enough for her to hear, only for him to be greeted by silence in return. A long sigh passed over Rocket's lips as he stared at the blank expression on Primrose's face for another moment. "Come on, Prim. You're gonna go crazy if you keep your thoughts to yourself. Talk to me."

Primrose let the silence surround them for what felt like an eternity before finally looking over at her last remaining teammate. "I'm just scared, Rocket. Peter's been by my side for as long as I can remember. I don't know what to do without him."

"This is gonna work, Prim," Rocket responded, but he knew his words weren't enough to convince the Quill woman. He didn't even convince himself.

"What if this doesn't work?" Primrose questioned as her fingers went back to fiddling with her necklace.

That was the moment when Rocket's blood ran cold. If he were being honest, he hadn't thought much about that. The raccoon was placing all his cards on the table, praying that they would succeed in getting everyone back. But despite that, he knew the answer to Primrose's question. And even if neither of them wanted to admit it, Rocket knew it was the truth. So after letting out the longest sigh of his life, he opened his mouth to respond. "Then we find a way to move on."

"No satellites. No ships. No armies. No ground defenses of any kind," a voice said over the comms, causing everyone to turn their attention toward the windshield to find Trina and Carol floating in front of them, "it's just him."

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Trina flew at full speed toward Thanos' cottage with the Danvers woman right beside her. Once they got closer to their destination, Carol slowed down to give the Felicity woman room. Not even a second after that passed when Trina's hands began to glow before firing a bright beam of light at the cottage. Her attack instantly made a direct hit, causing Thanos to use his Gauntlet to block her blast. It wasn't long after that when Trina moved to the side to allow Carol to fly through the hole she made. The blonde woman soon landed a punch to Thanos' face, causing him to stumble while she slid across the floor.

After regaining her bearings, Carol leaped forward and wrapped herself around the Mad Titan's neck. Thanos struggled to break free from the blonde woman's grasp, only to fail when Trina joined her. The Felcity woman copied Captain Marvel's actions while using her foot to keep his Gauntlet down. It wasn't long after that when the Hulk Buster broke through the floorboards and grabbed onto Thanos' Gauntleted arm. Not even a second after that passed when Rhodey came out of nowhere and grabbed the Mad Titan's other arm. Thanos' struggles seemed to last for what felt like an eternity, but all that changed when Thor broke through the ceiling and used Stormbreaker to chop off the Gauntlet.

Despite the pain he was going through, Thanos continued to attempt to break free from the heroes' grasps. But that soon stopped when he spotted the rest of their allies making their way into the cottage. Primrose's eyes instantly landed on the disregarded Gauntlet and froze. She was surprised to find that it was no longer gold in color, but an eerie black. It was as if it rusted in the twenty-three days since it was used. A shaky sigh passed over the Quill woman's lips as she made her way toward the Gauntlet. She then squatted down and carefully turned it over, only for her blood to run colder than ever.

Anger mixed with all the different emotions Primrose was already feeling as she looked over at Thanos. "What did you do?"

"The universe required correction. After that, the Stones served no purpose beyond temptation," Thanos explained as his eyes moved around to meet all the heroes' gazes.

"You murdered trillions!" Bruce exclaimed while pushing the Mad Titan with all the power the Hulk Buster held, sending Thanos to the floor.

What felt like an eternity after that passed when the powerful alien looked back up at them with determination in his eyes. "You should be grateful."

After watching Bruce punch Thanos in the face, Natasha took a step forward to ask the question bouncing around in her head. "Where are the Stones?"

"Gone. Reduced to atoms," the Mad Titan whispered just loud enough to hear. He studied their confused looks for another moment before continuing to speak. "I used the Stones to destroy the Stones."

That was all it took for Primrose's world to crash down around her for the second time in twenty-four hours. She found it hard to breathe as Thanos' words repeated over and over again in her head. The Stones were gone and so were their chances at bringing everyone back. Now there was no way of bringing Peter back. The Quill woman couldn't fight the tears forming in her eyes before quickly blinking them away, something Rocket only seemed to notice. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before a strange sound brought her back to reality.

Shock coursed through Primrose's veins when she saw lightning emitting from Stormbreaker. The next thing anyone knew, Thor swung his awe through the air and did what he should've done in the first place. A shocked silence filled the air as they stared at the God of Thunder, unsure of what to make of his actions.

"What did you do?" Rocket questioned, breaking the silence surrounding them as he looked up at Thor.

"I went for the head," was all the God of Thunder said in response before turning and walking out the door.

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Primrose hadn't left the Benatar since they arrived back on Earth, which was two hours ago. She was sitting in Peter's chair with nothing but silence surrounding her. One hand was tightly wrapped around her necklace while the other rested on the control panel. Her eyes were closed as she imagined her brother sitting where she was and flying through the galaxy. The Quill woman would give anything to go back and change her decision to leave Peter. She wished that she fought harder to convince him to let her stay with him. Maybe if they had been together, the battle on Titan would've ended differently. Maybe they wouldn't have even made it to Titan and instead stopped Thanos on Nowhere. But no matter how hard or how much Primrose wished to go back, she still found herself sitting alone in the Benatar. And there was nothing in the universe that could change that.

The silence was soon broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. Primrose instantly opened her eyes and saw Rocket walking toward her. It wasn't long after that when the raccoon sat down in his usual seat before letting the silence surround them once again. That lasted for what felt like an eternity before Rocket finally looked over at Primrose, only to find her already staring back at him.

"What do you need, Rocket?" the Quill woman asked, earning a confused look from the raccoon that made her let out a long sigh, "I'm not an idiot. You obviously came in here for a reason. What's going on?"

"Thor's leaving for New Asgard soon. Says he wants to get away from everything," Rocket announced before he paused without thinking. He knew Primrose wouldn't like what he was about to say, but he also knew he had to say it. "I think you should go with him."

"What? Why?"

"Because if you stay here, you're just gonna sit around wondering what would've happened if you made different choices," the raccoon announced, earning an unreadable look from the Quill woman. That was enough for Rocket to know that she was already doing that. "And if you go with Thor, you might be able to learn more about your dad."

Silence surrounded them once again as the remaining Guardians studied each other. What felt like an eternity passed when Primrose opened her mouth to speak. "What about you? I can't just leave you here alone."

A small smile soon appeared on Rocket's face as his eyes continued to study the Quill woman. "You don't need to worry about me, Prim. I'll be alright. I need you to worry about yourself for once."

Silence surrounded them once again as the brunette woman took in his words. She thought about leaving the Compound and him behind. If she was being honest, she was trying her best to think of an excuse to stay. but in the end, Primrose knew Rocket was right, even if she didn't want him to be. And so the Quill woman began packing a bag with the last friend she had to journey to New Asgard with Thor.

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