Apart of him wanted to be insulted at the quip from this — creature.There may have been parts that were more technologically advancedthan others but they were definitely more than some hunk of rock.They’d also protected the planet from not one but two distinctthreats. And should a third or fourth one come their way he was morethan capable of handling it. Yet this creature’s words had gottenunderneath of his skin, it rubbed him in a way that used to besomething only Stark did. Steve knew he shouldn’t let it get thebetter of him. Not when they had more important things to worryabout. Unfortunately, he tended to be the sort of person who allowedpeople to get underneath of his skin and the fact that a creaturecould do wasn’t going to change anything. They needed to know whathad happened and if they needed to put the Earth on alert forpotential problems. If something really was coming for them thesooner they knew the more prepared they could be. Ultron and Loki hadshown them that trouble could happen in the blink of an eye.
“Well, that’s all goodand well but you’re not on
that planet you’re on Earth. And wedo a damn
good job of protecting it. You also might want
toshow a bit more respect given the fact you’re
stuck on this socalled hunk of rock. We could
be your only way back to yourfriends.”
The group still had theirweapons trained on this beast and one wrong move meant they’d drop itto the ground. When he’d gotten the message he made a point oftelling them not to use lethal means. There was no point in killingit if it could provide some sort of intel for them. He hd no ideajust what it was they were going up against but now that he’d seen itwith his own eyes it had been the right choice not to use lethalmethods. All that was left was convincing it to come with them. Steveknew they could’ve readily taken him in given his short stature. Butthat wouldn’t get them the information they were looking for. Ofcourse, he knew that SHIELD had their own way of extracting intelfrom prisoners but he had hoped that things wouldn’t go down thatroad. Not when he knew what happened. It wasn’t his first choice buthe knew it was there should this beast not want to willingly give upthe information they needed. Hopefully, none of that would benecessary. Even though it was a creature it seemed to be intelligent.Which meant he might be able to reason with it so no one would end upbeing hurt.
“Rocket. I won’t ask justwhere you got that
but since you’ve got a name I’ll use it. Andif
you’d been here a few years ago you’d know
why we’remore cautious with visitors from
out there. We’re not here to beconquered or
to be enslaved. We welcomed Asgardians if
thatmakes a difference.”
Not that it would. They haddealt with far too many things to just welcome visitors with openarms. Between Loki and Ultron they all knew it was better to be safethan sorry. Of course, no one could expect a talking raccoon. He mayhave seen a lot of strange things during his time being awake butthis was new to even him. They probably should’ve treated him a bitdifferent but if they wanted diplomacy he was certain the would’vesent a diplomat and not a soldier. Since they had it was up to him tomake certain all of this went as smoothly as possible and withoutendangering more people than they already were. Steve knew the longerthey stood there the more likely they would end up in the eveningnews. They already had enough bad press thanks to Sokovia and Ultron,and they didn’t need any more. Especially when that attention was awalking, talking raccoon.
All of that was shoved asidewhen their conversation turned towards Thanos. Thor hadn’t given themmuch information but it was enough to know that trouble would findthem eventually. And when it did they needed to be prepared. Thefight against Ultron or Loki wouldn’t be nearly enough to preparethem for what was coming. He knew they all thought it would be enoughbut if someone had been playing a galactic game of chess with themnothing would ever be enough. Which was why he was so willing tolisten to Rocket. Steve had a feeling he knew more about Thanos thanhe was willing to share. And if that was true? They might need to usemore persuasive techniques to get him to talk.
“Surely Thanos isn’tworking alone on
whatever his plan is. He’s either got one
ormore people working with him or they
are working under him. Ifyou’ve got any
intel we need to know that so we can do
ourbest to prepare for what’s coming.”
He motioned for the others tolower their guns. Rocket made a point; if he wanted to hurt them hewould’ve done that already. And it wasn’t making a good impressionbut that was neither here nor there. They were protecting the planetfrom more invaders.
Clearly he'd struck a nerve with his comment about the Terran's planet even though it wasn't intended to be an insult, it was a matter of fact that this planet simply wasn't anywhere near as advanced as the others they frequented - and technically almost all planets were just hunks of rocks. It didn't matter that they'd defended it before, he couldn't imagine those threats would've meant much to those not confined to their little ill-equipped planet, if they'd had his tech then he was almost certain the threats would've been dealt with before they caused much damage. Still, he knew he had to play nice if he wanted any chance of getting his ship repaired so he was going to try his best not to insult the man further, being pleasant wasn't exactly his most practiced skill but he could pretend for a little while at the very least.
❝-- I never said you weren't doin' a good job,
don't know why you're bein' so touchy when
I'm just sayin' we're capable of offerin' you a
helpin' hand. Sheesh. Funny how you can
spend half this conversation callin' me an
animal but I call your PLANET a rock and
I'm the one bein' disrespectful.❞
Rocket had to halt himself there sharply before he said something he might regret, huffing a soft annoyed breath. He really hated not having the upper hand, usually he was so prepared for any kind of attack but he wasn't expecting the Terran's to even have the capability to track his vessel, much less for them to shoot him out of the sky. It was a good thing he was conscious from the crash too because he was almost certain his intel was one of the few things keeping him alive right then, that and the fact that they were likely wary of any tricks he might pull if they were to come close. There was no doubt in his mind that things would get worse once they got him into custody, they weren't the friendliest bunch and if they thought he was withholding information from them then they would probably do something about that. It was a good thing he was stronger than he looked, going through many prisons meant he'd been roughed up countless times and this time would be no different for him.
❝-- Cautious, huh? So welcome guests
get t' have names without you implyin'
they shouldn't have 'em, that part of their
privilege? Look, I don't care how y' treat
others, all I want is to give you the
information so you'll let me leave and
never come back to this planet again.
Quill can come himself if he cares so
flarkin' much, I want nothin' more to do
with this planet.❞
His bushy tail was fluffed up and swaying angrily from side to side once he'd finished speaking, arms folded across his chest. Every time he attempted to be reasonable, to just talk like a person, it seemed the Terran would find yet another way to make him feel LESSER and there was only so much of it he could take without snapping. Maybe to others it'd seem small minded but he doubted Steve went around asking others where they got their names and though he didn't actually do so, the implication that he shouldn't have a name was present and that was enough. He'd already proven himself to be sentient, intelligent enough to pilot ships and build tech, there was little more he could do to prove to them that he was worthy of being treated as a person but they seemed insistent on ignoring that fact.
Yet they still expected information from him despite all that. He could see the Terran's attention shift the moment he mentioned Thanos and as much as he wanted to refuse to give them anything just to spite them, he wasn't looking to extend his time with them just because of his stubborn nature. It was safer for the universe if everyone was prepared to fight Thanos, they couldn't let him get any of the stones, Rocket had seen the devastation just one of those things could do and that wasn't something he wanted in the hands of someone looking to destroy the universe. With a huff, he offered a half-hearted shrug to the question, even they weren't sure who Thanos was working with but he was almost certainly not working alone.
❝-- I know he had daughters, one of 'em
turned against him to work with us and the
other disappeared after our last fight, her
name's nebula. Blue, mean, lots of cybernetic
enhancements. Lets just say she ain't
gonna be blendin' in around here, you'd see
her comin'. Can't say we know about much
else, he keeps his plans close to his chest..
Gamora might know more but she hasn't told
me anythin' specific.❞
He was at least thankful when the guns were lowered, allowing him a moment to relax without worrying about being shot. The movement to stand was slow and deliberate, half because he wanted to ensure he wasn't seen as a threat and half because he was in too much pain to move quickly, some medical treatment certainly wouldn't go amiss.