The barn door slammed shut, cutting off the late Missouri morning sun and plunging the space back into a dim, dusty haze. Peter Quill, age ten, stood facing his friends, a triumphant, slightly wobbly smile on his face.
âGood news, guys!â he announced, holding his arms out wide. âDrax is off the chain!â
For a heartbeat, there was only the sound of a distant crow and the gentle chewing of Groot. Then, chaos.
Rocket, his fur matted with burned patches and homemade salve, fumbled for a dismantled energy cell on the workbench. âYou mean you set him free?!â
âNo, no,â Peter said, shaking his head as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. âOff the chain. Itâs Earth-speak for heâs cool.â
The collective tension in Gamora, Nebula, and Groot eased by a fraction. They lowered their stances. Peterâs smile widened.
âWhich is why I set him free.â
The barn door, which Peter had just closed, now creaked open again. Framed in the sunlight was Drax the Destroyer. He stood there, immense and silent, no longer restrained. He blinked slowly, adapting to the light.
Rocket let out a sound that was half-scream, half-growl. âYOU LET THAT MANIAC LOOSE?!â He pointed a bandaged paw, gesturing wildly at the groupâs various injuries. âHe tried to turn us into paste! He used my own tech against me! Look at my fur! Itâs gonna take months to grow back!â
From a bale of hay where he was propped up, Yondu Udonta coughed, a wet, ragged sound. He spat a glob of phlegm and blood into the dust. âThe ratâs right, boy. That green freak snapped my arrow and tried to feed âem to me. You think Kevin Bacon ever had to have a raccoon perform back-alley surgery on him to dig arrowhead shrapnel out of his gullet?â His crimson eyes narrowed to slits. Kraglin, cradling his broken arm and multiple bruised ribs beside him, just moaned softly, âI still feel dead. This has gotta be a bad afterlife.â
Gamora stepped forward, her young face a mask of cold fury. âHe tried to kill me and my sister. He called us âspawn of Thanosâ and did not care that we are children.â
Drax listened to the litany of his crimes, his face a landscape of profound shame. He did not defend himself. Instead, he stepped fully into the barn, the floorboards groaning under his weight. He walked to the center of the room and stopped, then held out his thick, scarred wrists, presenting them as if for manacles.
âThey speak the truth,â he rumbled, his voice low and devoid of its previous roaring fury. âMy rage was a blindness. I have caused you great harm. I offer no excuse.â He bowed his head. âI will accept whatever fate you choose. Imprisonment. Death.â He swallowed hard, the words physically painful. âEven⊠even being a slave once more.â
Peterâs heart clenched. He remembered the raw pain in Draxâs voice when heâd spoken of the arena, of the brand he hid on his arm. To offer that up was to offer the deepest part of his soul for punishment. Peter looked at his friends, his eyes wide and pleading. Please, his look said. See what I see.
A heavy silence fell. Gamora looked at Nebula, who gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shrug. Rocket muttered a string of untranslatable curses under his breath but didnât raise his weapon. Groot, perched on a high beam, simply watched.
It was Yondu who broke the stalemate. With a tremendous groan, he pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on Kraglin, who whimpered at the movement. âThatâs it. Iâve had my fill of this backward mudball and itâs even more backward problems.â He fixed Peter with a stern glare. âYou got a heart too big for your own good, boy. Itâs gonna get you killed one day.â He started a slow, pained limp toward the door. âKraglin. Weâre leavinâ. If I never see you lot, or this planet, again, itâll be too soon.â
Peter couldnât help a small, smug smile. âHe says that every time,â he whispered to Drax. âBut he always comes back.â
Drax didnât hear him. He was still staring at his empty, outstretched wrists, bewildered. The expected punishment did not come. The chains did not snap back on. The blow did not fall. He slowly lowered his hands, turning them over as if seeing them for the first time.
The barn was quiet again, save for the sputtering roar of the Eclectorâs auxiliary pod firing up in the south pasture. Drax stood, a monument of confusion in the middle of the dusty space.
âYou are⊠not going to execute me?â he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
âNah,â Rocket grumbled, hopping down from the workbench and wincing as he landed on a tender spot. âTurns out weâre idiots. A pack of sentimental idiots.â He jabbed a thumb at Peter. âBlame the star-shooter.â
Gamora approached Drax cautiously, her posture still defensive. âWe are not our fathers,â she stated, her voice firm. âAnd you are not your rage. Peter believes there is more to you. We will⊠see.â
Drax looked from her to Peter, the simple kindness an equation he could not solve. He had offered them his life, and they had instead given him a reprieve. It was more alien to him than any planet heâd ever been on.
The moment was shattered by the screen door of the farmhouse slamming shut. Jason Quill stood on the porch, squinting into the barn. Heâd been in town for groceries, and the beat-up pickup truck was now parked haphazardly by the fence.
âPeter?â he called out. âEverything alright in there? Sounded like a commotion.â He started walking toward the barn, his boots crunching on the gravel path.
Peterâs eyes went wide with panic. Heâd been so focused on Draxâs redemption arc heâd completely forgotten the third act: Grandpa.
âUh, yeah! Everythingâs cool, Grandpa! Super cool!â Peter yelled back, his voice cracking with nerves. He frantically gestured at Drax. âHide! Or⊠just⊠try to look small! And friendly!â
Drax frowned. âI do not know how to look âsmallâ. It is a physical impossibility.â He puffed out his chest slightly.
âThen just donât look like you tried to kill everyone yesterday!â Peter hissed.
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