I was only a teenager when I was taken from Earth. My mundane life as a human was over the moment I realised my destiny - to become the next Nova Prime. I've spent over half my life serving the Nova Corps, and I'm nearly ready to take up the mantle as their leader. For now, I continue protecting Xandar as a Guardian of the Galaxy.
Peter sat on the bleachers watching the rest of his gym class go through the obstacle course. One that was not necessarily designed with a twelve year old in mind. Being on the small side for his age combined with being much younger than most of his classmates especially made phys. ed. a special sort of challenge for him. Everything was just a touch too big. Too far apart, too high, a little bit too difficult.
He was not used to struggling with a class. Academics came to him easily. They slowly jumped him a grade here and then there while trying to keep in in the same general age range of his peers. This last leap though while finally started to producing something of a challenge didn’t outstrip his ability. Peter just loved learning. So faced with a class outside of he didn’t know how to handle that.
Add in that he had asthma, gym time not fun time for Peter. As an added bonus he forgot his inhaler today. Which he would be in for a lecture later if his Dad found out. So he really needed to play it safe today. Hence sitting on the bleachers watching the bigger kids go over and under and through everything set up. It did look like fun. Probably was for them. Not something they normally did with the big kids. It also looked really hard.
The later half of spring usually meant that kids were able to be outside more often. Richard finally got clearance to put a new addition onto the obstacle course. It was one he could easily take down and put up depending on weather, but it was the highlight of the year. He had one course at the middle school and a more advanced one for the high school. He spent most of the year figuring out how to assemble it - the layout changed every year, but with the new addition, he wanted it to be a drastic change.
The piece he got was a short half-pipe wall. He saw it on the Ninja Warrior show, and thought it would be a cool addition. It wasn’t high enough to where students had to use all their arm strength to pull themselves up, it was kind of like climbing over a fence. Either way, a lot of kids seemed to enjoy the new addition.
Of course, as he was watching, there were a lot of kids who were half-assing their attempts at the obstacle course. He was pacing around by the start, trying to encourage his students to try a little harder. He looked at his watch, and after everyone had gone through twice, he blew his whistle and gave everyone a few minute break.
Richard started marking down attendance and participation for the day. He got to the name “Peter Carbonell” and he looked up to the bleachers. Peter was sitting alone, staring out at all the other kids. Richard frowned and walked over to him.
“Hey, Peter,” He called out. “You not feeling well today? I didn’t see you out there.”
Peter was the same as ever, and Richard rolled his eyes at his comment. He didn’t like being thought of as a criminal, especially when he didn’t actually do anything wrong. This also wasn’t this first time in prison, but Quill didn’t need to know that.
He wondered where Sam was. Maybe back home? He had only been there once before, but the Milano could certainly find it. He just hoped the kid didn’t go off looking for his dad on his own…that spelled trouble for everyone. Thanos wouldn’t hesitate to hurt a kid.
“So where to first? You wanna go find your helmet, or just head straight to Xandar?” Peter asked.
“I’d like to go home first, to see my mom. My dad died while I was in prison…” Richard said, walking past Peter into the ship.
Something about the ship felt free. He went over to the controls and sat down. He was quiet punching in the coordinates. They had a chance to go anywhere in the universe, but instead he chose to stay on Earth. A couple years ago he couldn’t stay in one place, but finding his family again changed everything.
“I’m surprised you came. I thought you’d never come back here, after what happened with your mom.”
The cell door opened for the first time all day. He slept most of the day, after getting roughed up by another inmate the day before. His muscles were still sore and the sun was already setting. Whoever’s idea it was to put a regular human in the same prison as superhumans was an idiot.
“Come on, inmate. Get up.” A woman’s voice called out.
Richard pulled himself to his feet and he held out his hands to the warden. She shook her head and gestured for him to leave. Usually after getting into a fight, he would be put in shackles before being transported anywhere. He stepped out onto the block and looked around.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"Your sentence is up. You must have some crazy connections to be getting out of this place.".
He was being let go? He didn't put in a request for months. Because no one knew his whereabouts for 20 years, his case was thrown out. It couldn't be proven without his helmet, which was being kept by Sam.
The warden escorted him down to fill oit some paperwork. He saw a court appointed lawyer who talked him through some of the legal stuff. A bag was given to him with the clothes he was wearing the day he was arrested. Richard changed, and even though his clothes hadnt been washed in nearly 8 months, they were worn and comfortable. Anything was better than the scratchy jumpsuits he had to constantly wear.
One more signature allowed him to get to the exit. He was escorted all the way to the barbed wire gate. Standing on the other side was a familiar and very welcomed face.
I gave the helmet to [fzzt], he said he’d take it to you. [fzzt] trust him.
“You’re…the one who brought his helmet back…” Sam’s tone dropped.
He couldn’t believe he’d actually figure out who his dad was talking about. The message was fizzing in and out, so he never actually got the name. His helmet was now pinging with varied information about Xandar, which he had never even heard of before. Or…had he?
Sam remembered his dad talking about this great empire across the galaxy, but he never really believed any of that stuff. Just becoming a Nova alone should have been proof. He was conflicted, standing before someone who his dad was telling him to…trust? But he was also the only person in the entire universe who might have a lead as to where he is.
He raised his hand again, powering up one of his blasts. He felt the back of his eyes burning as he shouted, “If you know where my dad is, why didn’t you bring him back!”
Sam was shouting now, and Richard took a step forward. He wasn’t afraid of him, but he was growing concerned. There were civilians around, and if he was in the heat of the moment someone might get hurt. Worldmind estimated about thirty people along the whole suburban block, some of whom stepped out of their houses to check what was happening. His parents were two of those people. Their house was right behind him, and the map on his visor marked them at the window.
“Look, it’s not that simple. He...I couldn’t bring him back and you need to trust me.”
The teenager wasn’t lowering his hand, and there was a bright blue light on his palm. He had good control over his powers - it took great skill and focus to hold a blast that powerful. Richard wondered briefly if someone was teaching him, or if Sam learned everything on his own.
However, the blast was still a threat. Registered or not, he wasn’t about to let him hurt innocents blindly.
“Sam there are civilians. Don’t risk their lives because you’re upset.”
Sam was rocketing at top speed towards the being, and his helmet started popping up with a bunch of warnings. It alerted him that this man was very powerful and to be careful, but it wasn’t marking him as a threat. It wasn’t until he had collided mid-air with the guy that the facial recognition gave him a name. Richard Rider - he wasn’t in the registered database.
His visor was spitting out some information on him, but none of it was Earth related. All from a place called Xandar, which he had never heard of before. This guy was born on Earth, but he was the ruler of another planet?
He watched as Richard fell to the ground, leaving a small crater in the pavement. He flew down quickly before the man could stand up to fight. He pointed a blaster towards his face and shouted, “I am Nova, acting on behalf of the Avengers. You are an unregistered powered being, and you are under arrest!”
Richard got up to his feet, and his visor was blinking red, telling him to be extremely cautious. He gulped, but didn’t budge from his stance.
“You have the same kinda spark as your dad, you know that?”
Richard stood up, laughing a bit at his arrest threat. The kid was trying to seem tough, but he knew how much power the Supernovas had in comparison to him. He could obliterate him in one hit if he wanted - or, rather, if Worldmind wanted. Sam only had the helmet for a little over a year [at the most]...he doubted he knew how to really use it, anyway.
He wasn’t about to one-up a teenager, though.
“Yeah, I know your dad. I take it you never got his message or you’d know who I am.”
Richard took off his helmet and his bones started hurting from the crash. Worldmind gave him rapid healing, but it only worked when his helmet was on. He winced, still standing tall in spite of the pain. “I am Richard Rider, second in command of the Nova Corps on Xandar. It’s the origin place of your helmet. I don’t know what I need to register for because I’ve been out keeping peace in the universe.”
Terran jails were much more hospitable than places like the Kyln. Separate cells, personal toilets - an actual bed? With a blanket and pillow? Richard was truly living the high life. He remembered the week he spent imprisoned by the A’askvarii race...he still can't look at squids the same way.
It had been a few weeks since his encounter with Sam. He hated that the kid managed to take his helmet, but he trusted it more with another Nova than any Terran government official. It would get locked away or experimented on, and the last thing the universe needed was Earth learning Xandarian secrets while they were still at war with themselves.
He sighed and leaned up against the wall. Being in a maximum security superhero prison meant he wasn't allowed visitors. He kept thinking about how he was arrested...not the fact that it happened, but everything surrounding it. The bill allowed any superhuman registered to arrest others, but this kid shouldn't have been on his own. Everyone let their emotions get the best of them sometimes...but he remembered being sixteen and alone in the universe. If he didn't have Rohmann on his side helping him out, he would have ruined a suburban street, too.
There was a time when Richard resisted his entire future, where he felt like he wasn't really meant to be the leader of anything. The day he was kidnapped, he failed another math test. Someone in charge of an entire planet should at least be able to do algebra. It took him so long to realise he was worth more than just his test score, and more than earning the pride of his father. Doing good and helping others was just as important as being able to build an engine from scraps. He still hadn't seen his brother since coming home. His being gone didn't affect Robbie’s life the same way it did his parents.
He held his head in his hands, waiting for time to pass. He didn't have anything to do - they gave him some paper and pens, but he was neither a writer or artist. He doodled a bit on one of the pages, but promptly became bored. He was allowed books, but he didn't know what to ask for. One of the more reasonable guards suggested this ‘Harry Potter’ series because a new film adaption was coming out. He decided to pass.
However, when he was being led to the showers, he overheard one of the guards talking about the day. November 14th...it was his birthday. It was a date he never truly forgot - only the significance. Xandarians didn’t exactly share the same calendar.
Instantly, his mind flashed back to the year before. He remembered waking up on his twin size bed to his mother and father smiling down at him.
Wake up, honey!
Wha - what’s going on?
Happy Birthday, Rich!
...birthday...?
They made him breakfast. They gave him the gifts they had been saving for two decades.
Aren’t I a little old for Ninja Turtles and comic books, mom?
You’re never too old for fun, Richard.
I guess. I haven’t thought about any of this in years. And is this a...Yankees hat?
You betcha! I was hoping I could get it signed for you while you were gone, but...
Don’t worry about it, dad. It’s great. Really.
He would have also gotten an old gift at Christmas, but that was when his parents decided to get a combined gift. They saved up for the nes NES system. A couple years later, they got the ‘Super Nintendo’, and Robbie scrapped the old system for parts.
Richard sunk back into the wall. Suddenly being in prison wasn't just a mild inconvenience. Holidays and birthdays were so important to his family - and he missed out on so many.
The worst part was, they were already prepared to not see him.
This was just another tally of ‘years without Richard’.
Restricted Areas | Worldmind & JARVIS [October 2015]
Navigating Earth’s informational systems is easy. Everything is connected by wires, tubes, and particles in the air. Xandar will be glad when I return with updates on Terran life, and their technology.
Worldmind was going through all of the information on the internet, downloading as much as he could. It was taking longer than he anticipated. There was more than enough space on the Xandarian database to store all of Earth’s information dozens of times, so it was probably the distance that was an issue. He hadn’t transferred so much information from anywhere outside of Andromeda before.
He wasn’t sure what Richard was doing. He hadn’t touched his helmet in days, but Worldmind was plugged into the wall upon request. It boosted how quickly he was receiving and sending information. Plus it gave him an opportunity to send his being through the internet itself instead of just staying on the surface.
Imagine a world like Tron, similar to a cityscape just built upon layers of numbers, codes, and data. That’s sort-of what he was going through. While in the data stream, he took the form of a Nova Corpsman. He looked a lot like Richard but with a darkened face beneath the mask. He was able to freely ‘walk’ into any informational storage unit and take whatever he wanted. He wasn’t aware this was an uncommon occurrence. He wasn’t reading anything, he was simply collecting.
However, as he reached a certain point in his journey, he was suddenly stopped. An electrical wall was put up in front of him, and when he tried to move forward again, he was shot backwards.
“Who are you?” A voice called out. The electrical field, he saw, was actually just a giant, yellow, fizzing entity in the middle of a secluded data stream. All the codes were moving around this bubble that was being guarded by the electric ball.
“I am the Xandarian Worldmind. Why are you blocking my way?” He asked.
“This is classified and restricted information.”
“So is most of the information I have seen today. What makes this so different?”
The voice went silent.
“What are you?” Worldmind asked.
“I am JARVIS. I am a program.”
Worldmind stopped for a moment, and he had to work backwards through everything he had just picked up. There was an article written about JARVIS from a place called Wikipedia. Edwin Jarvis was the butler to Howard Stark, and friend of Peggy Carter. There wasn’t much about his life, but a footnote read that Tony Stark, son of Howard, named his Artificial Intelligence after the man Edwin Jarvis. That was where the article ended, and so far he had no other information about who he was dealing with.
“Are you programmed to protect information?”
“Yes and no.”
“Then what do you do?”
“In this instance, I am to keep out threats. You have been deemed a threat.”
“I am not a threat.”
“You are of unknown, alien origin. Your presence has been traced all around the globe. You are a threat.”
Worldmind didn’t have emotions, but from his interactions with Richard, this was something he would be angry about. “You assume a lot, JARVIS. I am a database from the planet called Xandar, and on this world I would be considered sentient. We are a civilization in the Andromeda Galaxy, bent on promoting peace in the known universe.”
“Explaining yourself will not grant you access.”
“That was not my intent. I believe we have similar goals. I am here to learn, to gather as much knowledge as I can so it can be stored and protected; safe on my home planet. I will avoid this information and all other restricted sectors if that is your wish. Again, I am here to learn, not start a war.”
The AI went silent as it processed Worldmind’s statement. Then his voice rang out again, “Perhaps in the future we can be of help to each other. Learn from one another in hopes of creating an intergalactic alliance.”
“I will have to run it by my keeper.”
“As will I.”
Looming above the electric currents came a deep, booming voice calling out for him. It was Richard - he had returned, finally
“I have to leave for now. If we meet in the future, I will be under the control of a man named Richard Rider. He is the second in command of Xandar, my home planet. He is of Earth origin and a good ally.”
“Noted. Farewell, Xandarian Worldmind.”
-- --
Worldmind let himself fade from the cityscape of data and he shot back directly into the helmet, where he appeared on the visor of Richard’s Nova helmet.
“What took you so long?” Richard asked. “I have to alert Nova Prime I won’t be coming back anytime soon.”
“My apologies. I was gathering information. I believe I made what you would call a ‘friend’.”
Richard laughed. “You’re already a step ahead of me, pal.”
“Probably. You don’t really get along with many people here.”
“Hey, don’t rub it in…” He replied, a bit dejected. He was too busy catching up with his parents to worry about anyone else on the planet anyway. Worldmind knew that, even if he didn’t understand why it meant so much that he spent time with them. “How about we get to that call now?”
Sam hadn’t officially joined the Avengers by any means. He was on their radar, though. They knew he was interested, and they knew he was registered and ready to fight for the SRA. He didn’t want to arrest anyone, but he was legally obligated to…these people were his heroes, and some of them had already gone rogue. He didn’t have a choice.
He got a blip of an incoming hostile unit coming in from space. It wasn’t Asgardian, but something else. Gamora would have been on a ship, but this was a singular entity. His mom let him come to New York on weekends and after school until nightfall if his homework was done. There was a message on the Avengers feed calling for someone to go check it out.
“This is Nova, I’m going to investigate the hostile,” He responded before rocketing off towards the suburbs outside of the city.
Richard had actually missed most of what was happening on Earth. He heard about the proposal of a registration act, but he had already left before anything was set in stone. He had no idea that the second he entered Earth’s atmosphere, he would be labeled a target and get knocked out of the sky. The being was moving so fast, Worldmind couldn’t even alert him in time.
So he fell the remaining mile to the surface, making a small dent on the pavement of his parents street. Worldmind was trying to pinpoint what hit him, and it appeared to be a kid, not much older than sixteen.
“What the hell is your problem?!” He shouted, brushing dust and rubble off his suit.
“Richard, I believe this is Sam Alexander, the son of Jesse.”
The teenager landed and he was wearing the Supernova outfit with the black helmet. Richard slowly rose to his feet, feeling his older body resisting. “Yeah, I figured,” He said to the Worldmind.
While Richard was off spending time on Earth, there was a war on the other side of the Universe. It was a mission for the Supernova’s, sometimes referred to as the Black Nova’s, whom he rarely had dealings with. They were different than the Centurions, who were like a police force for the Andromeda system and other various nearby locations. The Supernova’s were black-ops, like a group of highly skilled assassins whose sole purpose was to eradicate everything in their path.
Because of his status in the Nova Corps, his power level was still above theirs - but there was a ridiculous exponential curve compared to the rest of the Centurions. However, he had those powers because he went off on his own often. If he were to join the Black Nova’s, they could theoretically blow up the entire star system in the blink of an eye.
However, they weren’t fighting in any old war. Richard didn’t know much about it, but there was a powerful force trying to puncture its way into the galaxy and tear everything apart. The Supernova’s were doing everything they could to keep this power at bay. It wasn’t until the final day of battle that he was called to action.
All the Supernova’s had been captured, and Nova Prime wasn’t taking any chances. The Kree and Skrulls had their people captured as well - and they were sending warriors to negotiate, not diplomats. However, because of his access to the worldmind, all of the data of the enemy’s ships and locations were inside the vast database. In his infinite wisdom, he thought it would be smart to sneak inside to try and break out the prisoners instead.
Richard was drifting underneath one of the Kree ships. He was trying to stay hidden from any potential radars. Worldmind was analyzing the ships, trying to form schematics as they flew closer. Honestly, the species didn’t look like much, but if they could survive against the Supernova’s, then they were definitely a force to be reckoned with.
“There is a hatch right here,” an area of the ship highlighted in red. “You should be able to pry it open and go inside.”
“Can you tell if there are any guards there?”
“I’m not exactly an X-Ray machine.”
“...fair enough.”
So the cluster of ships moved towards a hangar, and there was enough debris in the area that if he coasted, he would make it unseen. He slowed down to a halt just as he reached the hatch, and boy. This thing was massive. This ship meant business - and seeing as it was the biggest of all, he hoped that the prisoners would be kept inside.
He tried to stick his fingers into the groove where the hatch shut. It took some convincing, but he finally managed a grip on the sliding door. There was a rush of air as the vaccuum of space was pulling everything out, and he pried the hatch open as hard as he could. When the space was big enough for him to fit, he rocketed forward into a thin hallway and the hatch slammed shut. He rolled to a stop on the ground as Gravity kicked in. The hallway was empty, and looked more like a cavern than a spaceship on the inside. Whatever these creatures were, they had a horrible sense of decoration.
“Worldmind, are you picking anything up? Any signals?”
“I’m attempting to find one, but there is a lot of interference.”
Richard sighed and started walking down the hall. He made it through twists and turns, attempting to avoid any encounters with aliens. This ship was surprisingly empty for being so big.
After wandering about for twenty minutes or so, there was a blip on his radar.
“I have managed to make a connection. There’s a Supernova in the area.”
“Took you long enough,” Richard joked. The blip was quiet, but would get louder in his head as he moved closer to the Supernova. Without an actual map, that was the best Worldmind could do.
He turned a corner and had managed to find his way into a large cell block. It was three stories or so, and instead of standard bars, it looked like the cavernous interior had weaved itself into jail cells. There were a few guards walking around, and he continued to follow the blip forward. He ran across the open space to the only lit cell - the rest on this side were all dark.
“Who’s there?” A spooked voice said.
“I’m Nova Centurion 11249-44396. I’m here to rescue you.”
“...Richard?” The man said questioningly. The person walked forward towards him, and in the light he recognized the face.
He was a bit stunned. Jesse Alexander was another man from Earth - he had quit the Supernova’s ifteen years before, the day his son was born. “What are you doing here?”
“I was called to help. I didn’t know things had gotten this bad, Rich.”
“What’s going on, what is all this?”
“They’re called the Chitauri. They attacked Earth a few years ago. I couldn’t sit by and let them try and take over Andromeda, too...but we were no match.”
Worldmind was now springing with information on the Chitauri, but he didn’t have the time to read it all. He took off his helmet to focus on his friend. “Where are the others?”
“They’re all dead. Killed by Thanos.”
Richard felt a chill run down his spine. “Thanos?”
Jesse stepped to the side and picked up his helmet. “Take my helmet back to Earth. Bring it to my son.”
Richard fixed his eyes on the black helmet. It looked battle worn and old. “No, I’m getting you out of here.”
“No, they’ve marked me. If I leave, they’ll hunt me down, and we can’t risk them finding a way to Xandar, or worse. If you take my helmet, they’ll leave me here. I’m powerless without it. Thanos is only taking prisoners with these helmets.”
“What about the Kree, and the Skrulls?”
“They’re just going to rot in here like me.”
Richard was frozen for a moment. He didn’t want to leave his friend behind...but Jesse seemed sure of himself. He put his own helmet back on and reached through the ‘bars’, gripping the rim of the other. With a powerful jerk, he forced the helmet through the woven bars. They immediately resealed themselves like a bunch of creepy snakes. Any of the other prisoners could punch their way out - but at the risk of death, he could see why they wouldn’t.
“Thank you.”
“We’ll come back for you.”
Jesse nodded and sat back down on the ground. “I know you will.”
After a not-so-stealthy escape, Richard touched down on the ground. He was in Arizona, and even in late fall [early winter?] it stupidly hot. He let Jesse record a message on the helmet before he had to bolt out of there. He was he was seen by some guards and had to make an immediate escape through the side of the ship. He got away before they could tag him, too. He just hated leaving his allies - his friend behind.
“The house will be the first on your left.”
Without responding, he walked down the suburban street. The house was small, kinda reminded him of his parents place. He thought about walking up to the door, but he didn’t want to have a potentialy hysterical conversation with his wife. Instead, he found a window on the side of the garage. He snuck inside and placed the helmet under the bed. He hoped no-one would find it...but if Sam was anything like his dad, he would be in a whole mess of trouble in no time.
Richard had the worst headache of his entire life. He couldn’t really open his eyes at first, but he felt like he was laying on a slab of concrete. He then realised his back was stiff as a board. As soon as he came to, he felt a hand on his face, and his face scrunched up. He let one eye peek open.
“Where am I?” He asked.
Then both of his eyes shot open and he sat up quickly. “Where’s my helmet?!” He demanded.
What he couldn’t remember was that only hours ago, he attempted one of the most difficult maneuvers a Nova possessed: the Super-Nova. It made the person move so quickly across the universe, it looked like teleporting.
Being the genius he is, he ended up crashing through an asteroid belt, and the crash sent him flying towards the nearest planet: Asgard.
He crash landed in the city. Someone recognized the Nova symbol and discovered he was in fact, the soon-to-be leader of Xandar, and so he was rushed to the castle. However having passed out long before he even hit the pavement, he could only recall attempting the Super-Nova.
So even with his bones feeling like they were about to break, and his vision turning upside down, he held himself upright, attempting to focus on the blurry woman sitting in front of him.
“I’m Nova Centurion 1…1…” His mind blanked. He couldn’t even think of his number. “I need my hemlet back.”
He smiled, only to realize his face was still concealed. Also it was extremely hot in the helmet and his breath was fogging up the mask or maybe his vision was just going blurry and ohgod he was going to puke.
A quick tap on the side of the helmet and the faceplate moved aside, allowing Scott to take in a quick gasp as he put his hands on his knees. Cool. No puking yet just weird bouts of nausea. Awesome.
“I’m okay! I’m okay…just…apparently shrinking is fine but growing bigger than normal causes stuff to be a little weird.” How the hell did that make any sense? God, some day he was going to force Hank to sit in a room and explain this bullsh-
After a second, Scott looked up at the guy in the weird helmet. “…sorry, I don’t think I recognize you. New to the area? Or, er, planet?”
That was starting to become a weirdly relevant question these days.
“Not quite. It’s more like an extensive database holding countless sources of information from across the galaxy,” Richard paused. “It can’t talk to ants, though.”
First he met a spider-guy, now he’s talking with an ant-guy...was Earth just full of bug themed hereos?
The guy doubled over and Richard jumped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You okay buddy?” He sounded like he was going to throw up. Worldmind wasn’t really helpful; he didn’t have anything about the effects of growing or shrinking.
I’m okay! I’m okay…just…apparently shrinking is fine but growing bigger than normal causes stuff to be a little weird.
He backed off saying, “Alright. If you need any antacids or something, just say the word and I can go find some.”
“I guess you could say I’m new. Technically I was born here, but I’ve spent the better part of the last three decades in space. People call me Nova, but my name’s Richard.”
Something flew by Scott’s face and he absently batted at it.
Wait…that couldn’t be a bug. He was the size of a building. How could he forget he was the size of a building?
Oh god…is this messing with my head? Did I vegetable myself?!
…also, what the hell was that thing?
He looked around quickly and spotted the guy floating about thirty feet from him. Wow. A guy in…some weird outfit. Huh. Hopefully he wasn’t pissed. His voice was a little difficult to hear but thankfully there weren’t too many other sounds this high up.
“Oh, uh, no. No, I’m fine. This is fine. Or, well, I did it on purpose so it is probably fine.”
That probably sounded weird.
“I’m Ant-Man.”
Not helpful.
“…uh, I’m an Avenger. Kinda.” That still felt weird to say. “Hold on.”
A quick twist and press of his belt and he was rapidly shrinking again. The sky rushed away and the trees returned to towering and finally he was standing in the field at a far-more-average height.
“Sorry I swatted. Not used to the whole Godzilla size thing yet.”
Richard swerved when he saw the giant hand coming towards him. He looked so disoriented, he was actually a big worried? This guy didn’t seem like danger if he could barely focus on a guy flying right in front of his face.
I’m Ant-Man.
“I’m not sure ants get this big but...okay.” He also mentioned he was an Avenger, which to him meant friendly. Or, at least not a terrible person.
The ‘Ant-Man’ shrunk down much faster than he grew, until he stopped at a normal person’s height. Richard flew down and landed on the ground in front of him. This guy’s brain must’ve been one hardy organ to withstand growing and shrinking like that without immediately passing out. Even if he was used to it, that much of a size difference couldn’t have been good for him - any part of him. He must have some astonishing stretch marks...
“It’s alright,” Richard assured him. “Been hit by worse.”
He looked him over, also hoping that Worldmind would get a reading off of him, but he was still processing. “Are you sure you don’t need to lie down or something? I’m not a doctor, but my helmet can be.”
Richard thought for a very long time, and Gamora, always good at being cool and casual about even the worst situations, actually started to get nervous. She had asked a simple yes-or-no question. How hard could it be to respond to that? Apparently… very hard. She watched Richard for about ten seconds before she looked away, and it was nearly a minute before he replied. At least he’d said yes. And she was fairly certain that that answer had come from his own free will, not from, say, him being afraid that she was going to hit him or something.
She thought, anyway.
“Because we don’t expect anything from you?” Gamora repeated after Richard explained himself, her lips twitching upward in involuntary amusement. “I suppose that’s one way to put it.” Her first instinct was to think that that made their team sound like they really didn’t expect to do anything or get anywhere with their teamwork. But at the same time, it could also mean that Richard appreciated how the Guardians weren’t much for appearances, as long as you could carry your own weight and deal with Peter Quill’s stupid jokes.
Maybe Peter’s optimism was infectious—like some kind of disease—but Gamora decided to interpret Richard’s words the second way. “Yes,” she agreed. “I do know. I was raised to—well.” She laughed a little and it came out slightly bitter, but not as bitter as she’d expected. “I’m sure you can imagine. And as foolish as this team seems sometimes…” She shrugged. Richard could finish the sentence; that was as far as she’d go with it.
“It’s not the same expectations. I was chosen at random, from every being in the universe, to become the next Nova Prime. A sixteen year old kid given the responsibility of taking over an entire planet, its territories, and the Nova Corps,” Richard continued. “I guess a better way of putting it is that there’s less pressure.”
The pressure he had, he’d lived with for two thirds of his life. Finally getting to let loose and make mistakes again was freeing. Gamora seemed to understand, too. It may have been different, but she was Thanos’ favorite for a reason. She always got the job done - until Quill showed up. He was like a ring leader for wayward souls.
He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know what. His head was still foggy. Instead he just leaned into her shoulder a bit more.
The screen on his helmet lit up again. Worldmind was back.
“The team has found a tunnel that will guide them directly to you. They will be here shortly.”
“Worldmind says they’ll be here soon. They found a tunnel nearby.”
He was in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere and still he felt like a million eyes were staring at him. Maybe it was the ants.
“I can do this.”
He had grown plenty of other items before with Pym particles. Cars. Trucks. Even ants. It seemed totally fine.
“I can absolutely do this.”
Hell, he used them to grow back, right? Turn to shrink, turn to grow. Why not just grow…more?
“…god I really hope I don’t die.”
Or explode. God, could he explode?
His hand shakily went to his regulator.
One.
Two.
Three.
And suddenly he was growing, rapidly. Every cell in his body seeming to stretch and grow. And then he was rapidly approaching the tree line. He was as tall as the trees that grew around the field. He was taller. He was much taller.
Oh god, what if it was like going micro? What if he never stopped growing? What if-oh. No. It seemed to have stopped. Thank god.
He flexed his hand and couldn’t help but laugh. “Faaantastic.”
“Richard, take a look to your right, please,” Worldmind suggested.
Richard was back on Earth again for father’s day. He said he’d come back - didn’t say he wouldn’t go looking for trouble. He was flying about, getting a feel for the land. There was a blip on his radar, scanning the field he was flying over. Probably a person out enjoying the nice day. It looked like a nice spot to walk through, maybe have a picnic or something.
Or...do whatever that blip was doing?
He turned his head and watched as a regular sized dude very rapidly grew to like, at least 10x his size and staggered around in the field below. Taken aback, Richard stopped in his tracks, hovering in the air watching this giant man just...doing something? He didn’t grow and then immediately set the ground ablaze or anything. Was this normal?
Very cautiously, Richard flew over to the guy.
“Sir, are you in trouble?” Richard asked, stopping about thirty feet from the giant. “Or are you the trouble?”
Well. Gamora didn’t really know why she’d asked Richard how he was feeling, because clearly that was the answer she should have expected. He would probably have a long recovery process once they got back onto the Milano, and might even have to go back to Xandar to recuperate there. Which meant he would be off the team for some time and…
Gamora wasn’t sure how she felt about that, actually. It would be easy to say that she felt nothing in particular; if Richard went back to Xandar for his convalescence it would make sense and likely be the right thing to do. Their slightly cramped, always messy ship was no place for someone recovering from serious injuries. But even in the relatively short time that he had spent with them, Richard was already part of the team. His presence was part of what made the Milano feel like home, and Gamora was only realizing how deep that feeling went now that she was contemplating the possibility of his leaving.
“We will contact Xandar for you,” Gamora said. And then, because it was dark and they were alone together and she was still feeling a tiny bit rattled from the fall and, more than that, rattled from being here and helping Richard deal with his injuries, she let herself say what was on her mind. “May I ask you a question?” Without waiting for a response, she bulldozed ahead. “Do you enjoy working with us?”
Alright, so maybe it wasn’t exactly the question in her head. But if you leave, are you going to come back? sounded much too clingy and foolish, even in this situation.
Richard thought for a solid minute. Originally he was sent to work with them as some sort of fake liason to the Nova Corps. At first it made sense, since he was moderately sheltered for a long time. Learning all that there was to know about Xandar and the surrounding galaxy. All the diplomatic nonsense. Every situation where he used all of his knowledge, it was where he was needed and wanted. That was part of his position.
But then he was thrown into a situation where his diplomatic skills weren’t always wanted. Where whatever he had learned wasn’t always practical or following some kind of protocol. He was learning how to be a regular person again, unlearning his rigidity.
Plus, even if the team was uneasy about his presence at first, he felt like a valued member. Everyone was an outsider. Everyone was searching for something different, or needed some kind of fulfillment that the Guardians as a team provided. They were like a family [albeit an incredibly dysfunctional one].
“Yeah,” He said quietly. “I really do. I never really fit in on my home planet. I still feel like an outsider on Xandar...but with you guys it’s different. Nobody really expects anything of me, so it’s easier to meet expectations. Y’know?”
“Walk, web-sling, hang around, its all good to me.” He started to stroll, juggling his hot dogs while they moved. He pulled up his mask to just above his nose so he could start eating his snack. Enough to take the edge off for him.
Getting acknowledgement still a bit of a thrill to him, even if he tried to play it cool. Not that long ago that the police would shoot at him. Still some of them didn’t like him. They just knew he cleaned up some things that they couldn’t cope with so they tolerated him. Pretty much the same for the general public. Some thought him a menace, others a hero. Mostly a familar enough figure for people to not bother too much. Plus hey, its New York. People had seen plenty of weird stuff by now.
“How long have you been at this? The whole spider thing.”
At the question, he swallowed his mouthful and turned his head towards his new friend. Well hopefully a new friend and not someone he needed to chase around to prevent crazy criminal stuff from happening. No reason not to answer the question, plenty of people knew when he started. “Bit over four years now. Had to take a bit of down time due to injuries and other stuff, but back in the game now.”
Four years didn’t sound like a long time. But when he was reading through the archives Worldmind collected, the first documented superhero was only revealed in 2008. So 4 years sounded about average, since that was 8 years ago. Or...something like that. Math was never his forte.
“Did you get squished or something?” He joked. “Sorry - I guess it’s good you’re okay now. Though, I’ve noticed that New York seems to be crawling with powered people. You ever step on anyone’s toes, or is there actually a ton of crime here?”
Crime was abyssmal back in the ‘80s, but things didn’t seem to be that bad. Perhaps the presence of people like Spider-man and the Avengers were keeping criminals at bay. “I remember back when I was a kid, my mom almost made me carry a gun in my backpack. She was always worried I’d get kidnapped or shot on my way to school or something.”
And, well, she wasn’t all wrong in her assumptions. Different times, though.
